Godzilla: Dogs of War
by Mr. Anonymous 2000
Summary: Book Two of the Monster Wars trilogy. King Ghidorah has arrived and war has begun. Armies of men and monsters are arrayed against him but when the King of the Monsters roars defiance, the battle promises to shake the heavens and shake the Earth.
1. Chapter 1

Monster Wars II

This tale that you will soon read is but one of many. And there are, indeed, many. These tales are written to chronicle an age that began in 1954, an age that began with the death of the previous. For it was in 1954 that a man named Steven Martin wrote a book called This is Tokyo. In its prologue, he wrote "And thus the Age of Men has ended, for the Age of Monsters… has begun."

GODZILLA: THE MONSTER WARS

Book Two: …AND LET SLIP THE DOGS OF WAR

A tale of the Age of Monsters

By

Juan Garcia.

12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; 13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

Revelations. Chapter Six. Verses 12-17

1 O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? 2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt... 4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs… 10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? …12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. 14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. 15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. 16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. 17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name… 22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. 23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.

Book of Psalms. Psalm 74. Verses 1, 2, 4, 10, 12-18, 23, 24.

Prologue

The days and months and years that followed to make up the "Monster Wars" were to be the very darkest and cruelest that mankind ever knew. Yes, it was a war but it was different from all others because this battle was not about one nation's freedom but humanity's very survival and beyond because King Ghidorah sought not only to destroy the human race but all life as well. Like a juggernaut from hell, the Prince of Skyllans inexorably surged forward to bring forth destruction and suffering and death everywhere he went and that included many places. Finland, Indonesia, Madagascar, Australia, Kazahkstan, Greece, Thailand, Brazil, Chile; their cities were wiped off the map. By the time the carnage was done the demon's slaughter had brought ruin to every nation on earth. Many countries wouldn't recover for generations, if ever, and in too many cases the living envied the dead.

How many dead? By the end of the Monster Wars, well over 180,000,000 lives, some said as many 240,000,000, were lost. Hundreds of millions more were left homeless. Refugee camps sprouted up everywhere and those in them would die slow and torturous deaths of hunger and disease. King Ghidorah himself was responsible for this misery for his Taint caused much famine and pestilence through the land.

The same, however, could not be said of war. At a time when the world should have been coming together, it was falling apart. It would have been easy to blame the global riots, civil unrest, and looting on the madness wrought by Star of Doom's Fear but near all of it was man's own inhumanity to man. Yet as horrible as it all was, most of it was left unchecked. The world's armed forces had trouble enough dealing with King Ghidorah's wrath.

Not since the Mysterian and Muvian attacks had the all the nations of the world joined forces against a common foe. All the armed forces of Earth came together for this battle. First and foremost was the DFE, or Defense Force of the Earth. Originally the UN's peacekeeping force, it had evolved, with the assimilation of NATO, into the equivalent of Earth's army, navy, and air force after the global military alliance against the Mysterians at the command of the Security Council and then Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold. The DFE's mission was to stand against those forces that would threaten the safety/security of Earth or a significant portion thereof, thus, the war against the Bane of Life was a perfect test for it.

However it was a test that some believed it would fail. The might of the DFE was pushed to the very breaking point and, as nation after nation was destroyed, some people believed that the DFE was, in fact, doomed to fail. Battle after battle was waged against King Ghidorah, by both men and monsters, and ever more blood was shed, all in vain.

The cover of Times showed European capitals in flames. CNN said that at the casualty rate the earth was suffering, the human race could face extinction in a matter of years. National Geographic was quoted as stating "the world's leaders aren't sure what to do." How could they?

War, famine, pestilence, and death marched across the land and it seemed as if the earth itself was poisoned with madness. Earthquakes, typhoons, hurricanes, tsunamis, volcanoes, tornadoes, and all manner of natural disasters began increasing in number and in strength. Violence, starvation, disease, ran roughshod and it seemed that no matter what weak and mortal men tried to do, that nothing could be done. Around the world chaos reigned and hope began to die.

It was then that United World News dared to ask what nobody else would: IS THIS THE END?

Madmen said yes. Blasphemers and heretics cried for there to fall hail and fire mingled with blood. They cried for the third part of the trees to be burnt up and for all the green grass to be burnt up. They cried for the sun and the air to be darkened and for there to be opened the bottomless pit. They cried for the moon to be covered with sackcloth and there be made an angel cry _woe, __**woe**__, __**WOE**_, to the inhabitants of the earth. And they believed King Ghidorah the one to do it. The mad leader of an Odo Island spawned doomsday cult claimed that it really was the end of the world and that King Ghidorah was the devil, the dragon of the apocalypse.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter One

The television screen showed a Japanese American reporter on the deck of a large navy vessel, her hair buffeted by the winds. Behind her were the sea and the coast. The people watching waited intently for what she had to say. "'We can work together, or we can die.' Those were the words stated by Secretary General Miguel Santos of the UN several months ago

"Hello. I am Connie Matsu of UWTN's Godzilla Watch Network. As you can see, I am here, live, on the ship Freedom, a few miles off the Egyptian coast near the city of Alexandria. Ever since the new and terrible kaiju called King Ghidorah began the Monster Wars, he has wrought havoc and ruin with every footfall.

"It began when he descended on the continent of Africa after he recharged his energies following his battle with Godzilla. After several false starts, King Ghidorah made a beachhead in Zaire and slaughtered his way south across nations of Angola before twisting north to Cameroon, Niger, Mali, and Morocco. In several interviews for United World News, Abdhul-rahman Ahmed, the Egyptian commander of G-Force Africa, has stated that the chaos wrought by King Ghidorah has dwarfed even the worst sufferings wrought by the snake kaiju Apophis. He has also stated that he doesn't know when, if ever, the ravaged African nations will recover from King Ghidorah's savagery due to their economic limitations.

"It should be mentioned, that due to some unknown ability exhibited by King Ghidorah, any area which he has destroyed is somehow unable to support life. It is hoped that this will prove to merely be temporary, but blighted areas in Africa and Europe are still of limits and quarantined evacuees, regardless of whatever treatments administered, are still falling ill and dying in terrible pain. There is also the possibility of brain damage; all those who have remained in the same area as King Ghidorah for any extended period of time have all seemingly gone insane. Radiation poisoning is suspected, but UNGCC scientists have not ruled out the possibility of a virus.

"After Africa, King Ghidorah turned his attentions northwards toward Europe as he crossed the Straits of Gibraltar from Morocco to Spain. He ravaged the capital, Madrid, and made the city of Barcelona so much rubble before blasting France in an assault unseen since the attack of 1889. The French are still recovering, psychologically as well as physically, from seeing their city of lights, along with all its treasures; the Louvre, Eiffel Tower II, the Arc of Triumph; all made dust."

The picture then changed to show London, in flames, under attack at night. King Ghidorah was seen ignoring the combined tank and helicopter assault against him while Matsu was heard in a voice over as the space demon continued his onslaught.

"Not even the worst that the Bronotosaurus wrought at the turn of the century or that Gorgo brought to bear against this mighty city in 1961 could compare. As this stock footage shows, King Ghidorah apparently attacked with great relish and is even seen tearing up the world famous Big Ben Clock Tower from its base and throwing it atop the rest of the buildings of Parliament. Bizarrely enough he took his time to destroy such landmarks as Buckingham Palace and London Bridge as if to humiliate the people of the UK, something that Gorgo did not do. London has survived war, famine, pestilence, but it may be unable to overcome death itself." The picture turned back to the image of Connie Matsu. "As of this report, England's capital has been moved north to Cambridge.

"After that King Ghidorah raced eastwards across Europe past Germany, where Frankenstein made a suicidal last stand defending G-Force Europe's HQ, though the super plane Gryphon did manage to escape. As for Frankenstein, even with his extraordinary healing power, it is doubtful that he will survive. Poland, the Ukraine, Romania, and Turkey soon followed and many of their cities have similarly been made smoldering ruins by King Ghidorah.

"With the neutralization of G-Force Europe and Frankenstein, kaiju attack has skyrocketed, primarily with Jormungand, also called Reptilicus, in various Scandinavian nations such as Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. With the majority of G-Force's might diverted for the struggle against King Ghidorah, those nations have been forced to stand on their own. Russia's own kaiju, Uchihikrah, has been volunteered to help resecure Europe even though his strength is far outmatched by the tasks required him. He is currently in Britain, helping her majesty's armed forces contain an outbreak of Black Dogs and an irate Nessie.

"And now here we are in the Mediterranean off of Egypt's northern coast where it is suspected that King Ghidorah will strike next. The current Egyptian government, ruled by the ruthless, military dictator, Anwar Mubarak, has refused to allow G-Force troops to be stationed in Egypt in order to defend against King Ghidorah's arrival. He states that 'it is the will of Apophis,' a snake kaiju rumored to be descended from Manda, and Mubarak's main weapon, to refuse admittance to intruders. He also does not acknowledge the evidence for King Ghidorah's coming strike.

"This is not to say, however, that King Ghidorah was, or is, alone. For reasons yet unknown to us, Godzilla has followed him everywhere he has gone. It could perhaps be due to the battle fought between them shortly after King Ghidorah made his presence known to the world. Godzilla feels that King Ghidorah is a threat to himself and thus wishes to destroy him. Some people, like Miki Segeusa of UNGCC fame, have tried to portray Godzilla in a positive light, saying that we share a common enemy. This is not the case."

Matsu paused before continuing. When she did she looked at the camera with a grim expression. "My career as a journalist began when I covered the battle between Kong and Godzilla have, ever since, been assigned almost exclusively to Godzilla Watch Network. I have seen the way he fights and have thus seen the terrible destruction that he is capable of. Little more than four months ago, I reported for GWN the Japan Self Defense Force and UNGCC's valiant struggle to save Tokyo from Godzilla's wrath. If Godzilla fights at all, it's for his own reasons and will destroy absolutely everything that gets in his way to get exactly what he wants.

"In following King Ghidorah through Africa and Europe, Godzilla has caused just as much destruction and havoc. What little that King Ghidorah did not destroy, Godzilla has. It is worried that the combined threat of Godzilla and King Ghidorah will be too much for the Defense Force of Earth to handle, but it is still hoped that those brave men and women will somehow still prevail."

She gave one last look over her shoulder to the Egyptian coast of Alexandria. "We have so far received no more reports of King Ghidorah's whereabouts, so, for now, this is Connie Matsu for United World News. Back to you at the studio."

In his chambers in the main governmental palace of Cairo, Egypt, Anwar Mubarak angrily watched Matsu's broadcast. That western wench made it seem that the glorious nation of Lord Apophis was unable to take care of itself! The petty affairs of other nations didn't concern him. If this "King Ghidorah" did arrive, though Mubarak doubted it, Lord Apophis would grind the fool into the ground. If the master's worthless father could make a stand against Ghidorah, then would not Lord Apophis do that much better?

He turned off the television. Mubarak rested on his overstuffed chair and looked to the alabaster walls of his office where many awards hung. There were pictures, diplomas, and commendations. The dictator smiled and poured himself a glass of wine in a jeweled goblet. A good glass of wine could always make him relax. He got up and walked on the rich rug shot through with silver threads. As he reached the window, he checked his gold watch before looking outside.

Even as a child, Anwar Mubarak had never been popular. Growing up he had said that he admired Hitler and Napoleon for making their countries subordinate to one will. His classmates had shunned him for their families had told them of how the Nazis and the French had invaded Egypt in times past. As an adult, Mubarak with his mania for order, his loathing for even the slightest deviation, and his love for nobody but himself made himself an outcast among the normally outgoing, cheerful Egyptian people. One of the only places that he found purpose had been the army where obedience and subordination were the norm, regardless of his clashes with Abdhul-rahman Ahmed. However, Mubarak lost faith in the Egyptian army when it lost to Israel back in the war. Cast adrift, he just walked into the desert where he might have died if he hadn't found the tomb of Apophis.

Either by fate or by cosmic chance he had found half buried in the sands, an ancient ruin that had been old when the pyramids were young. In it slept a most dreadful beast, but to Mubarak it had been a most glorious sign. By then the Age of Monsters had begun so he had had some preparation. Even so, the story inscribed on the walls was one most difficult to believe. The hieroglyphs stated that a serpent called Manda had ruled the ancient land of Mu. This, Mubarak had already known; Mu had made his attack on the surface world by then. The hieroglyphs also stated that Manda had fathered children, one of them was Apophis but that his slaves had rebelled and had placed him in the tomb to sleep until the last day.

Mubarak saw this and chose to awaken the beast. He was not disappointed. Apophis saw in the human an eager disciple who could tell him of the strange new world that had come to pass while he had slept. Mubarak came to worship Apophis and led an army of "converts" to Cairo where a coup placed him in power and had remained ever since. The previous government was now a government in exile in Saradia.

Egypt's dictator looked out the window to the city below. Cairo sprawled out in all directions and he ruled it all, in name at least. He had told Apophis that no nation in modern times with a kaiju for a ruler would be taken seriously and had thus arranged for a compromise. As far as the rest of the world knew, he was the absolute militaristic dictator of Egypt that madly worshipped the "dumb animal" called Apophis. In truth, Mubarak ruled in nothing but name; Apophis ruled all, Apophis was the beginning, Apophis was the end. Mubarak was merely the serpent lord's voice. But he was not angry; after all, wasn't a lifetime of service to Apophis the greatest happiness anyone could hope to attain? And wasn't the leadership of Lord Apophis' armies a tremendous honor? That it was, thought the dictator with a sip of wine. Praise be to Apophis.

Mubarak looked out the window and saw the glorious order unfold in all its splendor. The buildings were all built according to government regulations. That meant that they were all identical grey boxes. All the people wore their unisex government issued uniforms, all grey, of course. Everyone moved in total voiceless silence and in perfect synchronization. All the merchants in all the stalls all handed their buyers their loaves of bread all at the same time. All the customers handed their money to the vendors all at the same time. All the children playing games would all hop up and down all at the same time. All the girl's jump ropes would all hit the ground at the same time; all the boy's balls would all bounce at the same time.

All of it was in rhythm; all was identical. Mubarak smiled as he saw the people with their blank stares, the slack jaws dribbling, and only regretted that he couldn't make them all blink in unison. Even the mind controlling power of the mighty Lord Apophis had their limits. Even so, the people below were surely the happiest in the world. Not even Joseph Stalin and his Soviet Union had wrought such perfect conformity!

Mubarak's mania for order had made him the perfect disciple for Lord Apophis. He too shared the dream of a world as pure as an ant colony. However there were those who would ignorantly resist. Why, just a month ago a madman dared to squander Apophis' generosity by breaking the law! That man was burned alive along with the filth he had tried to corrupt the people with. The contraband he had smuggled had been books. Apophis forbade his slaves to read. It was for their own good, after all.

Fortunately that was only in the outlying cities that were not blessed by having their minds in beautiful union with Apophis. There the Ministry of Propaganda constantly reminded the people of Apophis' divinity and of all they owed him. But in the capital city of Cairo...! That was far from the case. Mubarak looked up towards the Great Pyramid of Apophis just outside Cairo where the master made his residence.

That was when he heard his cell phone. Mubarak slightly growled; regardless of its uses, technology was still a blight. "This is Mubarak. What is it? …*A monster's attacking the city?"*

In the city of Alexandria, the terrified soldier, covered in grime and sweat and blood, cowered in the rubble as explosions roared around him. He wept in absolute fear as the hideous cries of the misbegotten offal spawn that was the Prince of Skyllans raked his soul. "Sir, yes sir! It's not just any monster! The beast called by outsiders King Ghidorah has come! You must alert the sovereign palace at once and tell our lord and master, great Apophis, that the Armageddon Creature has come to Egypt!"

At that moment near Stuttgart, Germany, another argument was going on. It was the factory floor of a busy aircraft construction plant. It was to this place that the *Gryphon* had been taken after the destruction of G-Force Europe and it was here that tempers were flaring.

"What do you mean that it won't be ready for launching for another month!" yelled Kiriko Tsujimori over the din of construction.

"I am sorry herr pilot," apologized Ludendorf. "But it can't be made sooner. The Gryphon was smuggled out in one piece away from King Ghidorah but it was still damaged. A month will be needed just to get back where we were before, let alone complete it."

"'Let alone complete it...'" She looked at the man with an angry tone to her voice. "Ludendorf, have you seen the pictures of what that thing has done! My God, I'm not sure if London or Paris will ever be habitable again! Whatever mumbo jumbo King Ghidorah put on them has left those places as living thing friendly as Hiroshima one day later! And you say another month! Dang it... Have you seen how fast they're building MOGUERA back in Japan? They know what's at stake. We need Gryphon more than ever with Super-X III destroyed. If you don't get that plane ready, then my team and I can't pilot it and THAT means that King Ghidorah can do whatever the heck he wants! Don't those lives mean anything to you! Don't you care?"

At that Otto Ludendorf chafed. Holding himself in check as he spoke to the woman, he said "Yes, herr pilot. I do care, and that's why I don't want my construction crews rushed. The Gryphon will be less than useless if it is built improperly and will only be a danger to civilians. The more dire the situation, the less we can afford to act hastily."

With that remark, Tsujimori knew that she had overstepped her bounds. With a regretful tone in her voice she said "... Oh... I didn't know. I apologize Mr. Ludendorf; I should have thought of that before I burst out and yelled like that. I am sorry."

Ludendorf nodded. "It's alright herr pilot. I know you were just worried about those people. Have the Russians finished the development of the Gryphon's primary weapon?"

"Yes, they're just finishing testing."

Ludendorf grinned. "Then we'll have the Gryphon ready for its installation by then."

Tsujimori smiled back. "I suppose we will."

All of a sudden Ludendorf's face grew grim. "And what about Frankenstein? Do you know if Dr. James Bowen has said anything about him?"

"He's still not sure if Frankenstein will survive. Even if he does, one limb and part of another might have to be amputated unless they can find a way to speed up his regeneration."

On hearing of amputation, Otto conjured up the mental picture of a Cyber Frankenstein and of something else. Why was it that Astronaut Glen of the NASA space team looked just like a younger version of Dr Bowen? They must have been related or something.

Things, however, were less flippant on the deck of the Freedom. There, Connie Matsu reported with a sense of urgency. "It looks like a scene from a Denham studios disaster movie, but it's all too real! It's happening people! Alexandria is now under attack by King Ghidorah! If you look—" The cameraman turned the focus to the city on the shore in the background where smoke was rising up and where explosions rocked the ground again and again. "—you can hear the chaos. There is King Ghidorah—" Viewers at home looked at a blurry image of the golden sky dragon as he rained down gravity beams on the city below. "—bringing devastation. The space demon is sweeping back and forth destroying everything within reach of his gravity beams. We are unsure how long it will take for Egyptian armies of the dictator Mubarak to arrive. There is also the fact that G-Force can't intervene."

Turning away from the carnage over the sea, Connie Matsu looked to the man at her side. "Commander Ahmed, earlier you said that the forces that you've stationed just outside Egyptian borders and the Forces that you have assembled against King Ghidorah, part of which includes the very ship we are on, cannot intervene. Can you tell the public why?"

The viewing public saw Commander Abdhul-rhaman Ahmed of G-Force Africa looking towards the shoreline as he watched the butchery, his face as stone. As he looked at the grotesque fireballs blossom he spoke in an unfeeling, emotionless monotone. "The forces stationed outside Egypt are meant only to contain Mubarak's forces; to keep them from invading surrounding countries as they did in times past. There is also the fact that I have direct orders not to attack King Ghidorah while he is in Egyptian borders. If its leaders refuse help, they will not have it."

Taking back the mike, Matsu said, with a raised eyebrow, "There are some who have said that you would want Egypt to be destroyed. Certain opponents have stated that, with your struggle against Mubarak and Apophis, you have no desire to intervene. Commander Ahmed, what is your response to such allegations?"

With a grim and unforgiving look on his face, he turned towards Matsu and spoke, or growled, in a harsh, barely restrained voice for everyone to hear. "Miss Matsu, I would like to remind you, and everyone watching that I am, above, all things, a soldier. And a soldier MUST obey whatever order given him... even if that order is 'enduring the unendurable and suffering what is insufferable.' The emperor of the land of your fathers said that when he was forced to give up. I too was born in Egypt and whatever ill will I might have is for the monsters that have robbed my people of their land... And for willing to let that land be destroyed by their selfish pride. I would gladly go in lay down my life it I were able to."

" 'Death, is lighter than a feather; duty, is weightier than a mountain.' " Matsu was about to speak once again when she heard a hideous shriek. The cameraman turned upwards to what it was and all saw a flock of Ookundrus flying from the sea towards the city. One hundred strong, the vile vultures all flew at utmost speed to battle King Ghidorah, beating their fifty-meter wings with the fury of their master, Apophis. They blotted out the sun and the slipstream of their wings caused the humans to fall flat to the deck. More and more, the carrion eaters came shrieking their ugly calls.

Getting up, Matsu looked back into the flock as it flew to the city before looking back into the camera. Speaking over the cries of the vultures and in the darkness of their shadows she said, "Something new has just developed! A flock of Ookondrus has just flown in and are all heading towards the city! As some of you may know, Mubarak has genetically engineered monsters for use as bio-weapons. Some of them are the Ookondru flock, all enhanced clones made from the original created by the Chinese terrorist group Red Bamboo and destroyed by King Kong on their base of Letchi Island in 1966. It seems that Anwar Mubarak has sent them to do battle with King Ghidorah!"

The main sovereign palace was Apophis' domain. Just outside Cairo, it was a single huge pyramid built with the utmost precision and was truly a thing of beauty. It was so beautiful that it was hard to imagine that the serpent lord had built it with the tears of all those who'd perished in its construction. Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure's tombs, the Pyramids had been destroyed, along with the Sphinx and every structure on the plateau, to make the Pyramid of Apophis. Slave labor had been cruelly used to build in a grueling, torturous, killing five years what should have taken forty. Apophis would have no delays and had used the blood of his slaves for mortar.

Covered in limestone, the first Egyptian pyramid to be built in over 3,000 years shone a brilliant white in the sun. The crudely carved colossal Sphinx like Stone Guardians, whose breath was ice, endlessly marched back and forth between obelisks that gave glory to Apophis with every inscription. Sand was crunched beneath their tread and their harshly angular calcified skin scraped with every movement. The Stone Guardians were as unfeeling as the living stone from which they were made and thus paid no care, good or ill, as they saw a human on horseback race pass them.

Clad in the robes he wore whenever meeting his master, Mubarak quickly dismounted from his stallion and ran towards the huge main entrance. He approached the ornately carved towering columns. Spear toting guards clad in the old way saw him coming and raised their spears "Halt! Who goes there?"

"Its me you idiots!" growled Mubarak. "I come with urgent business! I must speak with Lord Apophis! Immediately!"

The guards apologized. "Sorry sir, we didn't recognize you!"

"Just get out of my way," growled the dictator as he ran into the cool cavernous stone darkness of the pyramid's interior.

One guard looked as Mubrak disappeared into the shadows. He looked to his partner. "He is truly a great man. To be chosen as the messenger of Lord Apophis..."

"I know friend," aid the other guard. "Apophis the liberator has made Egypt great again by making the people earn what they have."

"Indeed, free will is a privilege, not a right."

By then Mubarak had entered the inner chambers of the serpent lord. It was a titanic cave like room so enormous that clouds formed were said to form the top of the dome causing rain. The idea of comparing the chamber to a cave was not a wrong one; Apophis' sanctum was an appropriately dark and gloomy place that was chill and wet. It was a place whose dank atmosphere was filled with a sense of corruption. The gloom was only slightly dispelled by the faint flicker of torches set inside the skulls of those who had stood against the serpent lord. Mubarak ran across a stone pathway—huge in its own right but that seemingly stretched to infinity in the vastness of the chamber—which was lit only by the torches at its side. As he did so, he heard the echoes of water dripping into puddles that made the stone slick and called out the name of his master. "Lord Apophis! Lord Apophis! Master, hear my call; the land is in danger!"

The echo had not even died down when Mubarak stood still, awaiting a response. He heard one. He heard a hiss that shook the room and looked to the side of the pathway, bridge really because of how it spanned the darkness, to the abyss below. He looked over and saw two glowing specks. He then heard the hiss again and with it a rush of wind as the serpent lord rose up.

Shooting up past the stone span upwards was the wedge shaped head of the dragon king. As dull a tan and yellow as the sands of Egypt, he rose and rose in a never-ending sinuous pythonic column of flesh. The pillar slowed and stopped. A massive clawed hand the size on an elephant crashed upon the stone pathway. Five talons, each as cruel as a lion's and as big as ten lions, scraped the stone and were mere feet from Anwar Mubarak.

Then the mortal looked up and saw the huge face of the titanic dragon king. It was the face of Manda with the whiskers and the branching tree limb like horns to prove it. The long fur fell from the back of his head in a yellow mane, a tan colored waterfall. The serpent looked downwards towards the mortal who had disturbed his slumber and peeled his lips back to reveal the fangs within. With whiskers raised up, he narrowed his glowing eyes and focused his thoughts upon the overseer of his slaves. What was it? For what had he been summoned?

Mubarak fell to his knees and lowered his head. "Lord Apophis, great Egypt is under attack! King Ghidorah has arrived!"

Mubarak felt the whole chamber shake with the fury of Apophis's roar. Of course he already knew that! Did the mortal think him a fool?

"No my king," said Mubarak subserviently. "I merely wished to serve you and to confirm your knowledge. Your wisdom is right, o master. The harbinger of extinction, the Armageddon Creature is raging across the land. Your orders?"

Apophis communicated telepathically his command to send the Ookondrus, have them deal with King Ghidorah.

"Already done master. I have sent them in the defense of the city. However, according to the last report from my fellow servants, they fare poorly against the Star of Doom."

Apophis wondered how much so. Hauling as much of his bulk as he could upwards, he grasped the edge of the stone bridge with his claws and slithered all 125 meters of himself upon it. With the massive bridge easily supporting his weight, Apophis slowly went by his little legs to where the bridge led; Mubarak had to run at all speed just to keep up. Soon enough it was found. Centered in the heart of the chamber was a round stone slab whose bare ledge dropped into the abyss. The cylinder of stone stood with four obelisks evenly spaced from each other. At the edge of the surface were two larger obelisks upon which were all the marks of the word of Mu. It was to this that Apophis went.

This island of stone set high in a sea of darkness was so huge that it easily held the coils of the serpent lord. Lightning began to dance between the two columns; at first just stray sparks but then branching columns. They illuminated the darkness until they made a disc like two-dimensional image between them. Though the occasional spark shot out the lightning was gone and the image was there to show Apophis the battle.

His' python jaw went slack as he beheld the madness unfold in the city of Alexandria. The Ookondrus were meant as his warriors of the sky; they were the sacred vulture emblems of the house of Egypt.

Yet despite that, King Ghidorah was tearing through them as if they were nothing. Vulture after vulture exploded in a mass of bloody feathers when struck by the demon's Gravity Beams. Those that weren't killed as such were dismembered by the Bane of Life in the manner of tooth and claw. Already, bloody, mutilated, corpses were beginning to pile up. The Ookondrus were fighting desperately dodging and slashing; King Ghidorah was merely amused by their frantic tactics and gleefully stood still letting them throw themselves to their deaths.

Apophis had barely been a hatchling when the space demon first came long ago. One of the creatures to have stood against the space demon then was Kong who in modern times had had trouble enough with one ookondru. Yet for King Ghidorah to stand against his one hundred super Ookondrus? Could what Apophis' father had said about the three headed monster's power be true? No. No it couldn't be! No one could defeat the might of Apophis! That was true, wasn't it?

King Ghidorah had broken the last Ookondru's wings with the jaws of his two outer heads and could sense the plea for mercy coming from the beaten creature. Mercy? From the King of Terror? Never!, thought the savage as he decapitated the vulture with the bite from his middle head. He cast the twitching, headless, mutilated, corpse upon the heap with the ninety-nine others to rot like so much meat under the burning sun. The heads were strewn about at random. Already swarms and swarms of flies were buzzing around the bloated carrion to feast on the decay. They blotted out the sun like storm clouds and covered the ground like fog making it was the Fourth of the Ten Plagues, the Plague of Flies, upon Egypt all over again.

King Ghidorah cleaned himself of the bloody strips that stained him. He looked over the city, or what was left of it. Looking upon the broken skyline of the shattered Alexandria, he saw that fires burned everywhere and that the ugly smoke hung like a toxic miasma upon the ground. It was over. It was the standard mode of destruction for the Prince of Skyllans. He had blasted the outer rim of the city into a high ring of rubble leaving the innocent unable to escape. Then he had murdered at will. The killing of the Ookondrus had merely added that much more pleasure to the butchery.

However, the carnage was not done, far from it. There was still the matter of those inside the cities. Even though the whole city was made so much smoking rubble, even though King Ghidorah had raped the land more cruelly than an earthquake, there was still the matter of the lives to be taken and the blood to be spilled. Even now he saw them crawling out of the ruined buildings like maggots bursting from flesh.

He would not spare them. He had not let his own makers live; he'd left the wretched world of his birth a lifeless ball of rock with his World Extinction Attack. He had drawn into himself the powers of death and had poisoned the very manna of that planet until every last living thing was rendered a shriveled corpse. Not that the land hadn't suffered before then, his unholy presence alone had been enough to poison the mana of the land and wreak Cataclysms of a Biblical scale upon a world. Earthquakes, floods, droughts, the world itself seemed in the throes of madness and her children were suffering for it. They were suffering, just as before… The first time King Ghidorah came that, more than anything, led to the natural disasters that ruined the lands of the Ancients.

Why did he do all these things? How could he take such pleasure in the suffering of so many others? He'd done it to savor of their torment and revel in their agony. He did these things because there was absolutely no goodness in him; there was nothing but cruelty and hatred and wickedness in the pure evil that was King Ghidorah. You cannot ask Satan the Devil why he is evil; in both he and the three-headed monster sin was just there. It was what made them what they were. Yes, King Ghidorah would make suffer this wretched planet which twice over had thrust ignominious defeat upon him. Yes… he might have his vengeance. Yes he would... but only after he had burned the world to a cinder and made it a living nightmare.

It was then that King Ghidorah thought he felt something. He shrugged it aside as mere imagination until he felt it again. He looked back and forth until he squinted and saw on the ground the human soldiers of Apophis arrayed against him. All with blank stares and empty minds, they marched to their deaths firing shells from rocket launchers and primitive tanks as they did so. Like soulless zombies they swarmed through the streets towards him. What they chanted King Ghidorah, of course, couldn't understand. But he knew what it was. All of them chanted their mission over and over in a moaning voice. "Die for Apophis... Die for Apophis..."

King Ghidorah could sense no intelligence coming from them, he could sense no will or feeling. Intolerable! The Space Demon killed to know the agony of his victims and to bring them torment. If anything, he would blunt his skill on their unfeeling flesh. All three of his heads snarled. He would torture Apophis to no end for robbing him of his glory! And yet... if the serpent coward's puppets were so eager to die for their master, he would make them.

Closing his eyes, King Ghidorah focused his will upon his enemies. He let the control claim their minds. It was not unlike when he had claimed the thoughts of Captain Chavez; it was in some ways easier because, despite the numbers involved, these men had willingly surrendered their minds and thus offered no resistance because there was nothing to resist with. Deep in his pyramid sanctuary, Apophis felt this and exerted his mental powers to the utmost. King Ghidorah barely noticed it. As for Apophis, the mild backlash from the space demon's slight annoyance sent him into a coma.

As for the soldiers, they were now fully in King Ghidorah's thrall. Blankly faced as ever, they turned to each other and began firing on each other with their Soviet made kalashnikov automatic weapons. Tank drivers ran over soldiers that lined themselves up to be made bloody pulp. Officers calmly pulled out their pistols and shot themselves in the head. Yet this was not the end; as always, it was far from it.

King Ghidorah seemingly cackled as they brother killed brother and he would do that much more to the rest. He looked in three directions at the civilians crawling out of the ruins and claimed them as his next victims. The Star of Doom had never attempted to use The Fear on such a magnitude and upon so many as he would now.

Well, first time for everything. The air shimmered around him as he began to glow. His massive frame began to shake as he stretched out his wings to their fullest and let the Crimson Lightning shoot out from each spur. More and more it shot out, tearing apart the ground and infecting the land. What few survivors their were screamed in agony as they felt the torment rise through their very souls. King Ghidorah also screamed as he tortured himself with such actions. Yet more and more Fear did he spread with his wings' Crimson Lightning until he fell with a mighty thud and could do no more.

It took long enough but King Ghidorah wearily arose from the rubble causing dust clouds as he did. Exhausted though he was, he still grinned his demonic grin for he saw the humans in sweet, sweet agony. Well over three-quarters of the survivors had been reduced to gibbering idiots whose minds had rotted away into utter insanity. Driven mad by the Fear, they were killing everyone within reach in a maniacal ferocity and then themselves. They were killing with guns and knives scavenged from the dead soldiers, killing with tooth and nail.

The people were also tormented by their worst nightmares. Screams of agony and torture rang through the streets of Alexandria. Some saw themselves covered in scorpions, some felt themselves burned alive, others saw their flesh melting away, and still others believed themselves to be crumbling to dust. Their brains were all so convinced it was real that their bodies shut down and they indeed died. Some even thought that they were in Hell, that they had died and gone to Hell. Such thoughts were not far off considering the devilry that King Ghidorah wrought next.

With King Ghidorah, there is never an end to the madness, the hatred, the evil, the death. Possessed by the madness, hundreds of men were made monsters. Though the least in number among all those afflicted by King Ghidorah's Fear, they sins they wrought were the greatest. They went beheading their own brothers and eating men alive organ by organ. Sons raped their mothers; fathers, their daughters. Children bashed the skulls of their infant siblings to the ground. People were skinned alive and their corpses were hacked apart into chunks while their skins were left to bleed on poles. They were all made to kill that which they loved the most and do what they most hated.

The cruelest thing, however, was that, although possessed by King Ghidorah's madness, every last person's mind was fully clear. They all knew what was going on. They all fought in vain to stop themselves. Each man screamed in his mind as the insanity claimed his hands to bring forth the most profane of blasphemies. For years afterwards, the people of the city would be found in mental hospital, mad with self-loathing, mad with shame. They'd be found in mental hospitals… or in morgues. Many of them would commit suicide from disgust and remorse.

King Ghidorah saw this and smiled. He knew that there was going to be more so much more because all this was only the beginning…

The serpent lord of Egypt had been knocked unconscious earlier when he had tried to challenge King Ghidorah's will and for over half an hour; Mubarak had tried to wake him. It was only now that the son of Manda had barely begun to recover and get up. Barely able to think, he ignored Mubarak's pleas for requesting help and could only be afraid. Apophis was a terrified shaking wreck that had seen the thoughts of a devil. Then he looked to the images shown by the obelisks and wept.

Yes, Apophis, Apophis, dragon lord of Egypt whose name had been feared through all the land of the pharaohs for five thousand years wept. He wept for his people. In bringing their minds into the collective, he had promised them glorious order and a world free from pain and fear. He had failed them and burning in his mind were the cancerous thoughts left by the diabolic hammer against all righteousness called King Ghidorah.

Regardless of the fact that King Ghidorah was a fully sentient being whose intelligence was on par with that of any human, he of course did not think in words. However, if that fact could be temporarily suspended, and the thoughts that the enemy of all goodness had burned into Apophis' mind could be made words they would be these:

I remember you. I've known your family for some time. I beat your daddy and I killed his mommy. Well now, daddy isn't here to protect baby and I'm going to make baby cry.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Two

Inagos rose from his slumber in frightened shock. The Locust King rose up on his four hind legs and turned his multifaceted eyes around in all directions. He saw nothing; not even his twitching antennae could sense disturbance in the dark, dank cavern he was in. The ugly brownish yellow insect titan had sensed something whose mind was made of hate, death, and blood lust, nothing more. He had once seen minds similar to the cauldron of filth he had seen now when he'd flown near what the humans called Area 51 but no… it couldn't be.

Ignoring his darkened nightmare, the Locust King got to his six feet and marched out of the caverns. Inagos clicked his mandibles together and began walking hunched forwards through the catacombs. His billions of tiny subjects flew forwards, their mad humming announcing their master's arrival. Inagos was the lord of the flies—and of many other insects—and his body reflected as much.

He looked like some immense bloated locust or mantis. He was fifty meters tall and was the color of sand with black stripes on his back. Coming from his chest were two massive barbed arms ready to be used as weapons. Tipping his swollen abdomen was a long curved stinger from which a potent acid was secreted. When a stray drop dribbled from between his hind legs it burned a hole in the ground. Flanked by his reddish brown mantis like fifty-meter tall Kamacuras guards, he walked through the immense tunnels that the Ant Queen had carved for him and past the opening to the light above. He was in for a warm reception.

Having been told by his tiny locusts that they would see him, the various insect giants of the Swarm rose up and cried their hideous cries and shrieked their terrible shrieks in honor of their king. Inagos stood on the hugely titanic mound before them. Behind him was the one hundred story high hive from which the bee-hornets flew out for their master. Inagos reared himself up to full height, he threw his head back and cried with his utmost strength. To a human it would have been like the cry of tortured cat magnified a billion times over. Yet to the insects below it was the sweetest music. He was the Hive Lord; he was the master. Unlike Apophis's human slaves, Inagos's servants worshipped him as a god by their own free will. Inagos continued his shriek until he was done. He then glanced at his slaves and flew off.

With their master gone, the insect giants resumed their tasks. After all if they didn't serve the Hive Lord, who would? The ants resumed their building; every last sister using her titanic strength to lift fifty ton boulders above her head for use in repair of the colony. The flies and deathwatch beetles resumed their coronary tasks; even in death a child of the hive was to serve it and so the flies and beetles served the bodies of their late comrades as food for their fellow carrion eaters. The bee-hornets resumed delivering their loads of nectar to the hive from the grotesque flowers that dwarfed the Earth that spawned them; a poor collection, just a few million gallons of nectar that day.

As Inagos' wings set him atop the hive, he stopped, looked at his Kamacuras, and looked down far below to the desert land below him. Just as it had been in ancient times, so it was now that all that the sun shone upon from his hive was his kingdom. Inagos remembered a time when he ruled, a time even before the dinosaurs when insects commanded the earth. They'd been glorious titans who'd mastered the world and Inagos had been king of many of them and had been still before their time had passed. However, he'd willingly ceded his rule to the saurians when their father came. The Great Tyrannosaur wished for his children to reign and offered the Locust King and his minions another time for them to rule. Brave but not a fool, Inagos had accepted the giant's wish and waited for another day when the saurians were no more.

That day came on July 16, 1945, as humans measure time anyway. That was the day that one human summed it all up with the words: "I am become death; the destroyer of worlds."

In building the atom bomb, the humans had been so preoccupied with whether or not they could that they never stopped to think if they should. Such shortsightedness would prove costly because the radiation from the bomb seeped into the soil, the air, and the water. It changed the creatures into things they were never meant to be. Radiation there proved toxic to most all the life forms that hadn't been killed by the blast. Miraculously, the insects were spared and had even grown stronger from the radiation. Nobody knew why.

In the years afterwards, scientist Patricia Medford and her father suggested that perhaps because of the insects' simplistic body plan they were more able to survive than the more complex, and thus more prone to break down, animals of the desert. In any case the ants appeared in the 1950s in the New Mexico desert. First ants then more until their numbers were legion. They became giants; many of them weighed tons and were dozens of meters tall. They reclaimed the lost glory of their ancestors and were soon graced with their king once again.

It began when a mad band of Native Americans were exiled from their reservation by their own tribe. They had killed and kidnapped for Inagos, the monster that their shamans had seen in their visions. The tribe had never seen Inagos, nor did they want to. They knew he existed somewhere and wanted nothing to do with him. The exiled ones formed their cult and soon enough found the forgotten cavern of the Locust King. Remembering the magic that the shamans of the tribe had said would be needed to awaken the insect they chanted the chants and awakened the beast from his slumber. On seeing the humans, Inagos knew not what to do. The Great Tyrannosaur had promised that the Locust King would awaken in a world free of the saurians… but what were these? He didn't know what humans were and so, feeling hungry, he ate them.

It was a joyous day for the Swarm when they saw Inagos come to rule them. The greatest one of them, he towered above all them near three fold. Countless feuding clans laid down their rivalries to serve him together. Inagos saw this and was pleased. Yet now he was worried. That was then.

As the mammoth bloated locust waddled into the waxen hive where the grubs were kept, he feared how much longer his Swarm would last. He had seen the flies and beetles having to recycle the corpses of the dead and had seen the bee-hornets bring less and less honey. In times past he and his Swarm had flown and plundered at will but the little pink things, living in colonies as fine as that of any ant, made the cruelest of stingers to send against them. The humans had confined him to the borders of his land; the humans waited outside the borders as if daring him to go. With food less plentiful, the humans were seemingly hoping to starve him out.

In times past that would have been no problem; he would have just sent wave after wave of ants from the ground and bee-hornets from the air to break through their blockade with superior numbers. Yet for some unknown reason, his beloved queens could not produce so much as a tenth of the grubs they could before. Even worse, they could produce no queen eggs. There was no way for Inagos to know that the humans sterilized them.

Even so hope was not lost. He walked through the larval cells where the countless children of the Swarm were tended to in their hexagonal chambers by countless nannies. The cells were set in the walls and the floor; Inagos walked on the edges as he saw the bloated, pulpy, maggot-like larva squirm below his feet.

It was then that he saw his little one. Unlike the other children whose skin was wet and soft and pale and pulpy, the child was strong. She was already larger than many of the adults and could hunt her own food. The other grubs had to squirm to have food regurgitated into their mouths. In many ways she was an adult but Meganuron would bide her time until her metamorphosis into adulthood from the earthbound little insect she was into Megaguirus. As Inagos' heir she knew she would become ruler soon enough. When that time came she would rule the Swarm and lead it to greatness; she would be queen. But until then she was happy to be "daddy's little girl."

She was resting in a small, round, roughly walled room made of wax and paper. Inagos looked down at her and stroked her with his antenna. He regurgitated food from his clacking mandibles into Meganuron's and watched intently as the vomit dribbled out from the young one's maw. He loved feeding her. She was alright; despite the nightmare, his heir was unharmed. After turning his head for one last look, he and the Kamacuras left, content to leave her in the care of Shiigan.

Though seventy meters tall and once with power to rival that of Inagos, Shiigan hobbled subserviently towards Meganuron. When Inagos came all those years ago, she had been one of the only ones to resist his rule. As a female mantis, she despised males, such as Inagos, for being pathetic and weak. Males served no purpose other than satisfying a female's lust and to be cast aside or eaten soon after. Thus she had been appalled by how other insect queens, such as the ants and the bee-hornets, groveled at his feet and begged to serve him. Only Megaguirus had not bowed before him but that had been because the Locust King had not wanted her to.

Like Inagos, Megaguirus had also been a survivor of ancient times. The egg from which she had hatched had come from the mine where the Rodans had been found. In the Cretaceous extinction, her mother, the current Meganuron's grandmother, had left her egg where her old enemy, Rodan, had left her egg. Dr. Yamani brought that egg with him from the Japanese mine to America where, in time, it hatched to produce Meganuron's mother. When she and the rest of her swarm were killed, Inagos took pity on the orphan and made her his heir.

He also made Shiigan her nanny. To humiliate Shiigan to the utmost for her rebellion against him Inagos made her a lowly slave to guard the child of her worst enemy—the previous Megaguirus had repeatedly made war against her clan. Now repeatedly doped up by bee-wasp venom, the bright yellow, claw footed, sickle handed, four limbed, winged, spine backed insect dominatrix was less than a shadow of her former self. With broken limbs that had never healed, a scar across her abdomen from having her stinger torn out, and an ever-empty belly, she was pathetic. Her power broken and her traitorous Kamacuras deliberately serving their "liberator," Shiigan was less than a memory.

But that would soon change. Inagos would die and she would make him suffer after uniting with this new player in the Monster Wars. She looked down at the Meganuron grub as she wiggled on the waxen floor of the hive. Shiigan too had sensed the psychic surge on the other side of the globe and was pleased by the madness in it. She knew that a new world order was coming. It would come and soon.

In his chamber, Apophis, serpent lord of Egypt, had regained consciousness, even though it felt as if his head had been made into ground meat. And it had, it had. As his head swayed back and forth in the darkness, he heard a tremendous buzzing in his skull; part of the buzzing seemed to come from outside though. As he focused his attention he realized that the noise was coming from the human. What now?

Mubarak looked up at his master with utter disbelief. How could this be happening? How could there be someone stronger than Lord Apophis? Shaken and frightened he asked, "Master? Master are you all right?"

Apophis hissed. He tossed his head and his golden mane sifted back and forth. He was in pain but he would live. This King Ghidrorah was seemingly as strong as the legends said. He would have to summon all his forces to claim victory, however costly it might be, for victory was the only outcome.

Mubarak wasn't so sure of that being the only outcome. He craned his neck back to see the face of his beastly master. "Lord Apophis, as much as I wish the same, we cannot be certain of victory. Your forces are already diminished; the Ookondrus have all been killed, every last one, and your human soldiers were all made to turn on each other. It wasn't a battle; it was a massacre. There are others I can call if you so command, but… but, I'm not sure they'll be enough." He turned away full of self-loathing for what he was about to say. "Sir… oh, I can't believe I'm saying this… Ahmed has already offered his aid. Nothing but our word keeps him from sending his soldiers to fight. Please, let me call him for the aid he offers us. Let him suffer King Ghidorah's wrath not we."

Towering above the human, Apophis hissed so loudly that the whole cavernous room shook and he slammed his claws to the stones on which he and Mubarak stood. Ahmed? That presumptuous insect? Apophis would never accept anything but a corpse from him

Mubarak face turned into a grimace of panic. "If not him then what of Quetzalcoatl? That he is an enemy it is true. But master, your pride would not be sacrificed in calling him. He is your brother. Please know Lord Apophis that I would never wish to say this, but the Star of Doom is such that there is no other way. Your people are suffering; I've called for the evacuation of the cities but if so much as half your father's legends are true then all that is doing is delaying the inevitable."

The serpent silently hissed his loathing. Never. Yes, his people were suffering, yes, the King of Terror's might was beyond all things seen before… but by the snake goddess Vertigo Mu would rise to the surface and sink again before he let the world believe him, Apophis, to be so weak! He telepathically sent his command to Mubarak. The command was to send forth the Stone Guardians and Seven Scorpions and ready Horus, Sobek, Anubis, and Set, even cursed Set.

Mubarak knew he had no choice other than obey. He nodded in silent defeat and sighed. "Yes… my master. Is it your wish to for me to ready Ra as well?"

Apophis closed his eyes. He had not even wanted to think of that possibility. To call on Ra would be suicide. Yet if Apophis could not have Egypt, no one would.

Far away from them in the Himalayan Mountains, a small crew made their way through the near knee deep snow. They had been trudging through the bitter cold for hours now and their fatigue was beginning to show. Although Salno had promised them that they would reach shelter within the hour, Kyle and Miki were very worried. Yet despite the ordeal, all those present hiked in awed silence.

Kyle was no exception. While he had seen snow growing up in Chicago and had been briefed on what to expect, to actually be there was to be left breathless. He was already higher than most nations were; he only had to look at the clouds below that skirted the mountains to believe it. He looked at how the mighty mountains were beyond anything men could ever make and how those mountains made men believe in things greater than themselves. Kyle clutched his backpack with his thick snow gloves and, shaking off the snow off his thick red parka, gave a whistle through the green scarf he wore over his mouth.

Without breaking his snow-crunching stride, Yetrigar turned back to look at human behind him. Not wearing his human mask and revealing his white furred ape face and in thick warm clothes, he spoke and the words left as soft vapor. "What did you say human?"

Kyle lowered his scarf to talk, though even then he had protection against the cold; he had smeared petroleum jelly on his mouth to keep it from drying. He looked at Salno's Prime Minister and said, "I said that it's beautiful. The mountains are so amazing that they really make you believe that there's something bigger than you out there."

Yetrigar nodded. "That they be." He looked across the even slope they were on and where it made itself into sheer cliff. He saw the evening sun shine upon them from the west and how it made the snow into a field of diamonds. He nodded and continued. "I, too, never grow tired of this miracle. As a boy I played on these slopes and frolicked in the snow and dreamed of being a Watchika. Kyle, do you know how Mothra fairs?"

"Yeah and it's not good. She managed to lay one small, deformed egg before she died. That's how she keeps coming back; she returns as her own daughter. But as weak as the egg is, the Elias aren't sure if it'll hatch. If it doesn't, then Mothra won't survive. And if she dies now with Battra dead too, then that means that the two of them will be dead forever. Tenzin, I just keep thinking about what you're going to do. Are you absolutely sure that you're going to go through with… with that you're going to do?"

"You mean become a 'monster'?"

Kyle, very reluctantly, said, "Yes."

Tenzin flared his large simian nostrils. "I am sure of it Kyle. I have studied the customs of nations beyond Selginia and have seen that many are the peoples who fear the giants and few are they who love them. It is quite unlike the days of the Ancients when such Guardians were loved and revered."

Tenzin then grew slightly sad and silent. "Even among my people where the great Watchika's are admired, they are also feared. The Watchika that chooses the path of protector chooses to walk a lonely road without friends or recompense. He is doomed to watch his charges live in happiness while he has naught but his loneliness. It is a hard road to choose, but I have chosen it if it can save my people… and yours."

Tenzin saw that Kyle and Miki were beginning to tremble. Though the mountains were of course cold, they were now colder than usual; that wasn't surprising with how King Ghidorah's evil presence was poisoning Earth's mana and with that disrupting weather patterns. On seeing Kyle Tenzin and wrapped his long ape arm around him. "Do not worry, we will soon reach Meh-Teh where you will be warmed by the hospitality. I and my princess know these mountains as if they were the back of our hands."

"You said Meh-Teh has a geothermal energy source?"

Yetrigar smiled at the curious one. "That it is, not unlike the Muvians I believe. We even have an entire ecosystem inside our mountains as they have in their sub-oceanic cities."

"Really? Can you tell me more? How is it that the science behind it works or when it was made? Please, I want to know…"

Miki saw the two men talking among themselves. She smiled and was glad that her sweet Kyle had found someone to talk to. For seemingly the hundredth time, she checked a small pouch on her parka; it was where she kept her Mothra earrings that he had been suggested she remove for the climb. Being Miki she had been in good spirits ever since she set out from the Selginian Palace. She was only happier when she saw Kyle happy.

Yet, her happy thoughts evaporated when she thought of the condition of the world—though it was worth saying that, for some unknown reason, Japan, and America, had so far been spared the skyllan's attention. G-Force, even reinforced by the DFE and virtually all the armed forces in the world, was being torn to shreds by the space demon's assault. Miki especially despaired at how the armies of the world spent more time fighting Godzilla than they did King Ghidorah.

Not for the first time, Miki thought about how Anne Darrow had had the same problem concerning the US Government and Kong all those years back. Miki should know; she had asked Anne about it as a child. In any case, even if Godzilla fought for his own purposes, didn't they share a common foe? Most everyone held the thought that G-Force Alpha Supreme Commander, Commander Aso, had given them. It was the thought that "Having Godzilla fight King Ghidorah would be fighting fire with gasoline."

Yet even with that thought, the fire was so great that no amount of gasoline could make it worse. That was what Miki had thought when she asked Kyle to give a dying Godzilla the antidote to the Toxin he had been shot with when the Monster Wars had just barely begun. The King of the Monsters was perhaps the only thing that could stop the Prince of Skyllans.

But even if Godzilla and the humans were to unite, could they win? With all Miki had seen of King Ghidorah in her two visions and with what she had seen him do in the waking world, she knew that he would be Earth's greatest challenge ever. She tried to believe in what the Elias had told her, that she and the world had a chance, however slim, of surviving. Even so she still despaired and feared that the she would fail the task that the Elias claimed God had given her. To speak of God… and the devil… King Ghidorah's creators had aptly named him "the devil's hammer" because the three-headed monster was evil incarnate; Meru had said so.

Early on, G-Force had wanted a psychic to probe the mind of the Bane of Life; it had been standard procedure ever since Miki had telepathically stopped Godzilla for the first time all those years ago. Aso had asked that Miki go in first, after all, she was the best and brightest they had but Hayashida had said no; he said that was the reason they couldn't risk her. So they sent in another psychic, American trained Meru, to test the waters.

Even so, Meru didn't like the idea of being sent is as a sacrificial lamb but she knew that she had her duty and that she owed Commander Raschell of G-Force North America her loyalty. So she had gone in and had tried to mind read King Ghidorah but alas it was in vain. Seconds after making contact, she began screaming so loudly that her throat bled and she foamed at the mouth. Afterwards, she fell to the floor of the psychic building in epileptic spasms and went into a coma.

When she finally awoke, gaunt and pale and glassy eyed, her hair had gone completely white and she began to mumble incessantly of doomsday. Her only clear words, though cracked and strained, were at the end. "King Ghidorah's going to kill you all and there isn't a thing you can do stop him. He's burned whole solar systems to ashes; what makes you think that you can win?" She then escaped the orderlies' grasp and bit off her own tongue. She then gave one last scream, as she died of shock and blood loss. Yet despite that she somehow began to chant, and with no tongue, through the blood that poured from out her mouth and spilled out upon the floor. She chanted:

One, two, Ghidorah's coming for you.

Three, four you better lock your door.

Five, six, with your bones his teeth he'll pick.

Seven, eight, he is incarnate hate.

Nine, ten, never live again…

She died soon enough but the chanting continued. The men of the Psionics Research Center were in for a rude awakening when they saw the source. It was the children's dormitory where the Center's child students slept because there, Miki's young charges were in a standing position, though their feet dangled from where they hovered. They were all in their pajamas and as pale, glassy eyed, white haired and gaunt as Meru had been. When they all turned around in one motion, they all looked at the men who had supposedly come to protect them. Then, all in perfect synchronization, the levitating children chanted:

One, two, Ghidorah's coming for you.

Three, four, you better lock your door.

Five, six, with your bone his teeth he'll pick…

The children were saved by the Elias' psychic intervention; they used their power to heal their weak and wounded minds. Even so, many of them had to take drugs that would inhibit their powers. Young though they were, a mad psychic is a dangerous thing. Miki didn't know when, if ever, those poor children, most of them her students, would recover completely. They weren't the first and certainly would not be the last of King Ghidorah's victims.

Princess Salno also had thoughts considering King Ghidorah and the battles ahead; to prepare for them, she ready to do anything. Even as Tenzin was readying himself to be the Watchika, she was teaching Miki in the ways of psychic power. For many years, the royal family of Selginia had cultivated what little power remained them after centuries of intermarriage with humans; Salno's grandmother, Selena Sulna, had been a prime example of this. Salno had spoken at length with the Elias about how Miki, and with her Godzilla, might well be Earth's last best hope. Even as the Elias were augmenting Segeusa's power, Salno was planning to teach the young psychic Martian telepathy now that the she had the chance. That was why she had insisted that Miki be brought along. Not that those were Salno's only thoughts…

As a leader, her first responsibility was to her people, and, with her family having fought the demon, was especially worried. From the moment when she had sensed that something was wrong and she saw it confirmed by reports of a sphere in the news, she had held a secret fear that the enemy of all life would descend on her country. After all, the Martians had helped the Ancients of Earth defeat him all those millennia ago and she was the only surviving descendant of the Martian race. Had she not in the present day given the humans all she knew of him so that they might defeat him?

She had held that fear from the start and it had not diminished, regardless of all which Moll and Lora had said to comfort her. She had feared that King Ghidorah would destroy Selginia to wreak his vengeance. After all, he had destroyed Mars. That was when Belvera had gone straight to her face and said what Moll and Lora had not wished to say. "King Ghidorah destroyed Mars? So what? He won't attack Selginia any sooner that another country. That's because he doesn't care. He'd remember Manda or Kong but your ancestors or, better yet, you? For your ancestors, the death of Mars was the worst day of their lives. For King Ghidorah, it was Tuesday."

Salno knew that she should be glad at the thought that her people wouldn't be targeted but she was still stunned by the realization on what she had been told. The thought that she was nothing, less than nothing, in the Monster Wars frightened her. Were her training and years of preparation wasted? Was the idea then that she could make a difference a fool's gesture? It probably was if for King Ghidorah the death of Mars had been "Tuesday."

"We're here." All the hikers stopped at Yetrigar's command. However, they were confused; there was nothing in front of them. There was just more snow, more ice. It was just one huge glacier.

"Are you sure this is it Yetrigar?" asked Kyle. "I don't see anything. All I see is the flat top of a mountain, nothing more."

Yetrigar smiled. "That's because that's all we want you to see. What you see before you is a holographic projection meant to conceal the city from prying eyes." With that Yetrigar pulled out a small device from his coat. He looked towards the field of snow before them under the blazing blue sky and pushed a button on the device. At first nothing happened but then the miles wide plain of snow began to shimmer and shake. The snow then disappeared altogether leaving Kyle Martin and Miki Segeusa to look downwards in slack-jawed awe at the city that stretched out below them.

King Ghidorah was in Cairo and was venting his fury on its defenders. He had slaughtered every last Ookondru and had utterly destroyed the entire Egyptian Army back in Alexandria and now he had to face still more of Apophis's minions. In his march from the last city, air force pilots had suicidally crashed their planes onto his body as latter day kamikazes on running out of missiles. At first he had tried to destroy them but on seeing that, if anything, they were just trying to slow him down, he merely ignored them. He chose to let them throw their worthless lives away as if it were confetti. Their pathetic attacks hadn't hurt him in the least and had just made him angrier. He took the fury out on all the towns and villages he destroyed in his march from Alexandria to Cairo. On reaching the outskirts of Cairo, he met up with the Stone Guardians—he had made them rubble quickly enough. So know he was facing down Seven forty meter high Scorpions.

King Ghidorah was madly thrashing back and forth, destroying many buildings in the process, as three of the Scorpions dangled from their pincers on his necks. One on each, they held with one pincer and slashed with the other. Two more Scorpions were on his two wings slashing the skin membrane apart with their pincers and poisoning it with their deadly stings. The remaining two were on his legs, pumping their deadly burning venom for all their worth. King Ghidorah raged back and forth as the wretched things crawled over him. The Seven Scorpions wouldn't let the demon pass so long as they lived; Dr. Shirigami had made them from the plans of the Ancient Egyptian scientist, Isis, to guard until death.

For King Ghidorah, however, this was intolerable! He thrashed as savagely as he could but the wretched maggots would not leave. So be it then; if they wanted to face his fury then they would! The Prince of Skyllans loosed a rage of electrical current through his skin that blasted the Seven Scorpions off. Though at first disoriented, they all gathered together before him. Each of the forty-meter high creatures nervously clicked his pincers and blinked his eight eyes. By this time, Cairo was in burning ruins; virtually the entire city had been razed. Mubarak had been clear in relaying the master's scorched earth policy: fight and kill, fight and kill, the city and its people be damned just fight and kill. Yet, as the Seven Scorpions were engaged in a stare down with King Ghidorah, it gradually began to dawn on their simple minds that it would be they who would be fought and killed.

With nothing left to lose, the Seven Scorpions rushed forward in one last banzai charge. With a power fueled by his hatred the space demon loosed a barrage of Gravity Beams from his mouth and a rain of Crimson Lightning from his wings. Its power was the likes of which that the Seven didn't stand a chance. They were exploded and their body parts bloodily strewn about everywhere. King Ghidorah looked at them and crushed the nearest corpse, or remnant there of, under his heel.

As the scorpion's exoskeleton cracked like an egg beneath the demon's heel, said demon had hoped that he might now do battle with the son of Manda. Except for Godzilla, the Supersaurs had all been slain by his hand, as had been the Guardians save Kong and Manda. Like Godzilla, it had been Kong that dealt him the final blow in their battle. Unlike Godzilla, however, King Ghidorah felt no respect for the stupid drooling ape. This was because King Ghidorah had not been able to find Kong after their initial battle at the start of the Monster Wars. He'd simply… vanished. The coward had run away! And so with Guardian he hated the most gone, Manda, son of Tiamat, was the only one left for him to wreak vengeance upon. Yet he knew not where the serpent lord was so in this case his son would have to do. King Ghidorah couldn't believe it. He was the King of Terror and had to content himself with sham vengeance? Intolerable!

That was when he felt the ground shake and shake. What few buildings that hadn't been made ruin in his battle were immediately made rubble with the earthquake. King Ghidorah knew not was happening and so, puzzled, he stretched his senses to feel what it was. That was when he saw the jackal faced Anubis burst from the ground. King Ghidorah heard a shriek and looked upwards to see the falcon like Horus streak out from the sun and land with the force of an explosion. Where it crossed the city, the Nile River began bubble and churn as the crocodilian Sobek came out. From between the rubble came a mad cackling laughter, a cry of insanity and bloodshed. Thus did the hyena-ape called Set explode from between the last two standing buildings.

Damnation! By all the fires of hell, how much of this drivel would he have to endure! Would the son of Manda not fight his own battles? How dare Apophis call himself the son of the serpent lord of Mu? That the son of Tiamat fought alongside others, he had; but he had fought! King Ghidorah was almost reluctant to kill Apophis; if it were to come to that then all he would do would be to take from Mu a coward's name. But as King Ghidorah sneered his hatred at Anubis, Sobek, Horus, and Set, he would make the wretched Apophis pay with blood for his insolence.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Three

Apophis slithered before the twin obelisks and focused his beady eyes intently on the image that was projected between them. His last hopes were on these, the last of his champions. The serpent lord of Egypt had readied Ra as a weapon of last resort and though he was ready to use it he hoped his minions would win.

Apophis saw Anubis, a wolf-man like jackal standing on its two hind legs. His short fur was black as night and as coarse as sandpaper. He was as emaciated as a starvation victim was; he was like a living skeleton because his rotting maggot filled skin stuck directly to his bones. With sunken eyes glaring from his skull, Anubis was seemingly death itself for he could steal the life from anything he touched and any wound he caused never healed.

Apophis saw Sobek, the crocodilian terror, falling from two legs to four and baring his teeth all the way. His body was firm and strong and his armored hide was a dull greenish black. His vise like jaws crashed together, ready to crush whatever found itself between them. His tail lashed back and forth signaling his fury and the spikes strewn about his back were like broken glass. Sobek stood ready for battle.

Apophis saw Horus the falcon stand as nobly as a prince. Fierce and proud, the creature stretched his wings to the fullest in threat and clenched the claws that graced the wings. He opened his savage curved beak to shriek and showed the serrated teeth within. He raked his razor sharp talons on the ground as if in challenge. With speed and aerial agility the likes of which even Rodan would struggle to match, Horus would deal the challenge without fear.

Apophis saw Set, a thing cursed above all things. With the body on and ape and the head and fur of a hyena, Set was a vile, sin clad, rancid creature. His matted, greasy, spotted fur was a disease-ridden cesspool. The cruel beast cackled madly bellowing his wickedness incessantly to all that would hear it. Able not only to crush with jaw as strong as Sobek's, Set could infect with plague and his acid vomit could burn most anything.

The Egyptian descendants of Atlantean refugees had created these four beasts three thousand years ago to battle Apophis when he first arrived. Even murderous turncoat Set fought; his own survival had been at stake. With the help of Quetzalcoatl, they had won. When it began again in modern times, Apophis sought the four in their sleep and, with the power of Ra, had made them his mindless minions. Not until know had he had need for their services but if King Ghidorah had stood against Apophis' father and six others, Apophis would need all the allies he could find.

Apophis saw the four amidst the ruin of the city just outside his sanctuary and he saw it begin.

Sobek lunged forward with his jaws towards King Ghidorah's right leg but the wily skyllan dodged his body to the left. Yet that was what the four wanted because when that happened Set lunged from the side and clamped his crushing hyena jaws to demon 's thigh. The Bane of Life raged and screamed and thrashed but his enemy tore off the pseudo flesh in a vise like hold between his jutting fangs. Set refused to yield one inch even as he felt his energy drained away from the touch of the demon, even as his mouth burned with acid blood, even as bite after bite was rained down on him from the three headed demon 's maws. He tore and shook with his teeth and raked with his claws.

King Ghidorah was about to blast with his Gravity Beams when he reared back in pain. That was when he felt the flesh on his back began to burn; he howled because of it for Anubis had also begun his assault. The jackal had scrambled atop the demon's back to clamp his jaws about the central neck where he hang on for dear life. Every place where one's flesh touched the other's, the skyllan's skin began smoking; every wound, even the slightest cut, would not heal. Anubis felt his own strength wane as the demon leached it away but the skeleton jackal would not yield.

As King Ghidorah lashed his club tails about yet more pain shot through him as he felt those same tails crushed between jaws even crueler than Set's. Sobek impaled his conical teeth as deep as he could through the demon's twin tails and he wrenched them about as fiercely as he could in a horrendous death roll. It was with that movement that he felled the giant and cast him to the ground. The Prince of Skyllans fell to the ground and screamed his agony as Sobek tore a huge bloody chunk of yellow pseudo flesh from his thigh.

Then Horus shot out from the sky and cast his fury unto the demon. He embedded his talons into King Ghidorah's belly and savagely tore at it with them and his toothed beak and his wings' claws. More and more he madly slashed in the hopes to tear open the skyllan's belly and gut him like a hog. Three screams from a damned and unholy thing echoed through the ruined city as the falcon plunged its beak into its belly and tore out its burning yellow innards. Horus knew he would not long survive as the acid blood burned away his flesh and feathers but he still kept up his attack with a savagery to rival King Ghidorah's own.

The four relentlessly tore and slashed and cut again and again over every inch of the space demon's body. He was felled and impotently thrashed in his mad fury against his enemies but it was of no use. However, the Prince of Skyllans was not finished yet.

In a sudden single movement King Ghidorah tore out life force from the four attacking him and returned it as barrage of Crimson Lightning from torn and tattered wings. Set, Horus, Sobek, and Horus screamed in agony as the pain raged over every inch of their weakened forms. They were blasted off and came to their feet, not taking their feet from their dread foe for the slightest second. They saw that the demon spawn of sin and hatred yet lived; however living and doing so without great injury were two very different things.

King Ghidorah was the made the face of ruin. He hobbled with a huge gaping sore oozing wound left in his thigh; it was already a septic green and showed to the bone. The whole of his back along with the base of his middle neck was scarred and blackened as if he'd been a bondsman scourged with a burning whip. His right tail club had nearly been severed off leaving it to pour out yellow acid ichor while the left tail barely hung from the bones. His belly hung wide open and there dripped not infrequently his hot stinking viscera along with steaming yellow ichor to the burning ground. His whole body heaved and his six eyes glowed with blood red rage.

Did he feel pain? If he didn't it was because hatred screamed like a scarlet flood through him and drowned out all other things. If he did feel pain then he grew strong from it; a demon drinks in the suffering of all things, even his own. And yes, King Ghidorah was a demon.

The Prince of Skyllans surged upwards on tattered wings and screamed his unholy scream down below at the beleaguered champions. Horus looked at the demon. He was now a minion of Apophis and would fight for his master. Yet even if he had been in command of his own mind, he would have fought to rid the world of this cancer. Some vestige of his old self resurfaced and the avenging falcon proudly flew forward to make battle against the evil one.

Even in this exhausted and wounded state, the King of Terror would fight on for even if he were brought to the bitter end, he would still deal death. Horus and Ghidorah surged forward for an aerial battle; they went to make war in the heavens. The falcon followed the demon in an ever-higher vertical climb; they climbed until they seemed able to touch Horus's sun. The ground was a tiny patchwork of lines and scattered buildings from all the hundreds of thousands of feet they were in the deep burning blue sky.

King Ghidorah surged forward to make his assault but by then Horus had used his blinding speed to draw first blood. Yellow poison sprayed out from the demon 's veins and he screeched as a brown and black blur again tore open his side. Struggling to stay aloft as his simulacrum of life bled away, the space demon fairly foamed at the mouth in his sick fury. Horus then froze in one place; he hovered there, his clawed wings beating ever so slowly, as if daring his enemy to attack. Said enemy responded with a hellish barrage of Gravity Beams but they instantly stopped because their target disappeared. King Ghidorah looked back and forth with all three of his heads and scanned with all six of his eyes and then caught sight of a brown and black blur and fired upon that.

The scene repeated itself again and again but no matter how quickly the space demon fired, no matter in how many directions, he couldn't strike the falcon! King Ghidorah screamed in mad fury; as if saying, stand still so I can destroy you! Such mad fury was what Horus wanted; he took advantage of the space demon's madness to strike yet another hit-and-run strike. Before his foe could recover, the falcon plunged his talons into the festering necrotic flesh on the demon's back left by Anubis and tore chunk after rotten chunk out, ignoring the poisonous Taint and the acid blood as he did so.

That was when King Ghidorah arched his outer necks back and clamped his jaws Horus' left wing. There was a sickening crunch of hollow bones and a horrific falcon's shriek of pure pain as he was cast forward. However he was not released. Instead, bite after crushing bite was delivered from three mouths and from scores of burning teeth. Only then was the falcon released. Yet, instead of savoring his victim's awful cries of misery, the Prince of Skyllans looked to his wounds and then turned to Horus to see his flesh, to see his blood dried on him. King Ghidorah saw the gore and knew that this was intolerable!

The falcon's body had been built for speed, not combat; thus every one of his foe 's attacks counted double. Said foe was ready to send more than double as was seen in his flight towards him. As for the falcon, to know that King Ghidorah could yet rain such blows despite all the punishment dealt to him broke the falcon 's mental shield and allowed the Fear to seep in. Mere moments ago a flier with speed and skill to rival the Rodans, Horus felt red-hot agony with every limping beat of his broken wing as he tried to escape his pursuer. He felt the burning heat of the space demon's fireballs as they shot inches past him and singed his feathers. Horus swerved and dived as he tried to dodge the attacks; he barely could since his mind was possessed with Fear. King Ghidorah felt the equivalent of a smile; the fear of a broken and humiliated "hero" was the sweetest of all. Now it was time for the final blow.

Horus had flown so far and so fast that he no longer knew where he was. The falcon slowed and looked around. He ignored his furiously beating heart and rising panic to see that King Ghidorah was gone. No matter how much he searched the burning blue desert sky, the Prince of Skyllans was nowhere to be seen. There was just sky above and desert below. It was all so calm, so peaceful. Horus almost lost himself in the false security and felt as if he could just drift passively in the thermals. He didn't know why, he just wanted to rest.

That was when he felt his world shatter in an explosion of pain and the dizzying rushes of being shot upwards like a rocket. After his mental communion with Apophis, King Ghidorah had glimpsed the knowledge of influencing the minds of monsters. After lulling Horus into complacency, it was child's play to come in from in behind and capture him in his feet's talons for a trip to the edge of the mesosphere.

Well reader you might be asking, what is a mesosphere? The thing is earth's atmosphere, that is to say the air around us, is made up of several layers such as the troposphere, the stratosphere, for example. The borders between layers alternate between hot and cold and at the edge of the mesosphere it is icy cold at some –150 degrees Fahrenheit.

As a result of this, when King Ghidorah flew his enemy upward to that place, Horus was frozen to ice. At the fifty mile height blue sky turned to black space and there was no air for the falcon to breath, air in his lungs froze into white mist. Everything seemed to slow to an infinite crawl as the falcon gasped for breath, but there was no air to pass through his fanged beak into his lungs. Not just that happened, but ice formed on Horus's body and frost fused his feathers. As for King Ghidorah he didn't need to breathe and neither heat nor cold bothered him. Thus, in the frozen soundless blackness of space where the Earth hung like a green jewel below, the last thing the falcon lord saw was the face of Nut and the stars that were her jewels before he fell from the sky.

Amazing what a little science can do for you.

As for Sobek and Anubis, they knew not where their winged comrade had gone. All they had seen earlier was that he had flown off into the sky to do battle and had traveled beyond where their eyes could follow. Even Set, who had held feelings of enmity for the bird since ancient times felt something akin to worry. Then the three saw it. It was a streak in the sky. Was it a shooting star? They knew not but it strangely seemed to be falling towards them; then the three noticed that it was. It was shooting down and Sobek, Set, and Anubis ran in panic from the falling thing.

It was just in time too for no later than they did that it crashed with the force of a bomb. Smoke and dust hung thick around ground zero; the ground had been made into powder and there was nothing but powder in the two hundred-foot deep, six hundred foot wide crater. The three waddled, walked, and knuckle-walked, towards the rim of the crater, ready for anything. Then they heard it. They heard a mad laughter crueler than any laugh that Set had ever cackled and as blood chilling as the gates of hell. The smoke and the dust began to clear away and then they saw him.

King Ghidorah was still alive! His wounds were still open and raw, his flesh still hung in tatters from his ravaged frame, but he was still alive. And bloody, though not all the blood was his own. He was splattered in scarlet gore and crimson soaked feathers, as was the entire crater. One of King Ghidorah's heads turned away from Set, Sobek, and Anubis to the decapitated hawk's head under his heel. The Prince of Skyllans then placed all his strength into a stomp that splattered Horus' head beneath his foot as if it were a rotten cherry. The space demon's foot made crimson with the blood of his enemy, he turned towards the terrified survivors as if saying, who's next?

"Tuol, why are we stopping?"

Ramon looked at the stone giant from his perch on the giant's hand. For hours now he had ridden in his monster's palm on his arrival on Kenyan shores. Tuol had marched noiselessly across the Tsavo National Park after emerging from reefs at the coastal city of Mombassa for days, stopping only at night for his human guides to rest but to suddenly stop in mid stride… Ramon Bolivar didn't understand. They had stopped just a few miles northeast from Mt. Kilimanjaro. They could even see it from across the Tanzanian border.

The boy got to his feet and looked upward at the giant's ugly leering face. "Tuol, what are you doing? We can't stop now. King Ghidorah is further north. You have to go fight him!"

There was no reply.

"Tuol!"

"Stop it Ramon." The boy looked to the side to see Lora on Fairy zip in front of him. Mere inches away from his face, Lora looked at him from her saddle. "You heard me, stop. Listen, your shaman grandfather might have chosen you to be Tuol's guide, but you have a lot to learn about fighting in the Monster Wars. And for that matter, being a guide to a monster."

"What do you mean?" asked Ramon. "I don't understand?"

Lora rolled her eyes and sighed. She had hoped to go with Moll to the Yeti City but because she was the youngest, she was stuck with the boy. "Darn it Moll…" she whispered under her breath, "why'd you stick me with baby-sitting?"

"What?"

The youngest of the Elias growled. "Listen little boy I've been doing this ever since my mother guided the Prehistoric Mothra. My mother, Dragon Queen, raised me to know this. You have to be as one with your kaiju. After all, he depends on you to be his voice, his guide, and his friend. You have to understand what he's thinking and that means you have to put his judgments first!"

Hurt, Ramon spoke with a shaking voice. "Yeah, well sorry I've only been at this for a few months instead of 12,000 years like you!"

On seeing tears of hurt on the boy's face, Lora sighed. What was happening to her? She loved children and in past adventures she had welcomed them because their cheer and innocence are what gave her the hope to carry on, even in the darkest times. Now she was going to hurt one because of her own lost temper? "No Ramon… I'm sorry. Its just with, with the Monster Wars going on, and with Mothra dead, I can barely keep things in control."

"Is she really dead?" asked the boy. "Can't she come back like she always does?"

"I don't know. Normally she just does but this time that might not happen. She was almost killed by King Ghidorah when he first came. Before she died she laid an egg to be reborn from, but it's so weak that me and my sisters aren't sure if it will hatch. If it doesn't, then Mothra dies forever. And if she dies, Battra dies."

"I'm sorry," said Ramon. "Mothra was like family to you, wasn't she?"

"She's the other half of my soul," Lora weakly said. "I really don't know where I end and she begins. Her joy is my joy and her pain is my pain. If she is cut then I bleed."

"Then maybe I know how you feel. King Ghidorah destroyed my town and left my family homeless. They're alive, thank God, but it went loco when my abuelo woke him up." He slapped Tuol's stone palm. "He marched off into the ocean and then when G-Force came to what happened, abuelo said that I should go with them to be with Tuol. Oh, I miss my grandpa… all this time I though he was just some dumb old man telling crazy stories!"

Lora leapt from Fairy 's back onto her ward's shoulder. She sat down and placed her tiny hand on it. "Don 't worry. Your grandfather wouldn't want you hating yourself for that. And I know that your family is alright. Not just that, but I know that they're very proud of you."

Ramon sat on Tuol's hand and buried his face in his arms. "Sure. Last I saw they were in a refugee camp. I haven't heard from them since."

Lora just smiled and tapped her forehead. "Aren't you forgetting something?"

The boy from Lima smiled. "Oh, of course."

He then looked out to see the vast countryside. He couldn't help but be in awe of the majestic mountains and the vast grasslands all around him. Ramon had considered joining the army when he grew up so he could see the world; thus to be in Africa amidst the savanna was a dream come true. Thus while he wished that it could have been under better circumstances, he was still uplifted to be here of all places. He had seen lions and zebras and elephants. He had seen giraffes use their long tongues to eat the leaves of the acacia trees; he had seen baboons chattering in the baobabs; he had seen gazelles prancing among the tall grasses. He had seen it all along the unending unspoiled savanna. Unspoiled, but for how long?

Not long ago, Ramon's only world had been a slum where people lived in shanties made of scrap metal and cardboard. Yet when his grandfather had sent him away to guide the stone giant called Tuol, Ramon had seen that the world was a far larger place then he had ever imagined. He was now half way around the planet from his home of Lima, Peru. He had traveled to Kenya; in doing so, he had seen a hundred different peoples and a hundred different ways of life in going. It had only been then that Ramon had realized everything that was at stake and that he had to be ready to do whatever he could, no matter how small, to save his planet.

His legs were dangling from where he sat at the edge of the hand of Tuol, who was now frozen still as if but a statue once more. He looked over the edge and saw the military men under the command of one of Commander Espinoza's many lieutenants swarming below at the stone giant's feet. They were looking up, yelling why had Tuol stopped and undoubtedly cursing the fact that they were working alongside a boy and his monster. Not to mention the fairy that had been sent to be his keeper.

Ramon smiled and sadly looked up from the scar on his hand to the horizon. "Well abuelo, looks like Tuol's fight is going to be here. When it comes, it'll be for you."

Apophis was coiled in his vast cavernous chambers amidst the dank darkness and the cold gloom of the stone place. From this place, he watched the battles waged outside through the images made by the twin obelisks. Horus was dead and the others were fighting in desperation. The son of Manda had controlled their minds with his strange powers through the entire battle and was increasingly dismayed by what he saw. Not only was the falcon dead, but the others; Anubis, Sobek, and Set; were wounded and quickly reaching exhaustion despite their having been empowered by Ra. The battle outside was reaching such fever pitch that even in the stone sanctuary, the ground still trembled. If the four were to die, then Apophis would have no other hope.

The serpent lord knew that if his reign were to continue that he would have to take a more… personal approach to the situation. Yet to claim victory there would need to be a distinct advantage and he knew where to find it. So the serpent lord slithered along the ground, pushing his yellow body with his tiny legs, as many a thought spun in his gold colored, antlered, long whiskered head.

His big four had been made by his own rebellious slaves from long ago to stand against him. They had succeeded with the help of his brother, Quetzalcoatl. For King Ghidorah to be now winning against such an onslaught, he would have to be stronger than Apophis. It was a realization that the vain and arrogant serpent lord of Egypt had been loath to realize. Yet to say only that was truly an understatement.

In his youth in the capital of Mu, human priests had sung the songs of most ancient times when King Ghidorah had razed the land and caused suffering untold. The priests had chanted the legends of how Manda 's strength had not been enough to defeat the King of Terror and not even the strength of his mother the dragon goddess Tiamat, daughter of the Great Dragon and mightiest of all the monsters of the Ancients, had been enough. In the end, great Manda had had to join with six others to defeat the Prince of Skyllans and avenge his goddess mother.

However, the humans had never needed to sing their songs as Apophis knew it all for himself. Though he'd been but a hatchling when it happened, Apophis remembered seeing his grandmother brought back to Earth, bloody and broken, from her battle with the King of Terror amidst the skies of Planet X. She sensed the wretch had come to kill the world as he had done so when he had slain her father's children. Though determined to destroy King Ghidorah and avenge the death of the saurian race, she was already at death's door when she returned home. The tiny wrymling had slithered up to Tiamat's face to be with her in her last moments. There, he had felt love and hope from the daughter of the Great Dragon as if knowing that her death would not be in vain. As the mighty titaness went to join her father in a land beyond death, the child Apophis had shed the only tear he would ever know.

It was partly for this that he had left Mu all those millennia ago. Manda had sought only to guard the humans, as has his mother before him. Yet, in Apophis's sight that was not enough. As if he were Vertigo, the snake goddess of madness, he thought that to be truly protected, the humans had to be protected from themselves. If they had to be robbed of their wills and have a perfect one imposed upon them to receive that protection, so be it. When Apophis was thwarted, he'd been exiled as had his brother Jormungand, or Reptilicus as humans called him. In making a new empire in the land of Egypt, then as now, Apophis had thought to make a perfect world that he would be able to protect if disaster were ever to strike.

Yet the same disaster that had taken away his grandmother was at his doors now. King Ghidorah was a beast of chaos against whom not even the chaos god, Set, could compare. Ironic, during Apophis's sleep the humans had chosen to depict him as being an all destroying monster that would seek to swallow the sun itself, as a thing so terrible that even Set fought against him, if only for his own survival. Strangely enough, it was a sun that he sought to swallow now.

Apophis had wound and slithered through the hugely titanic corridors of his mammoth pyramid and, though dust had fallen from the roof and walls had shaken from the battle outside, he was now in sight of his goal. Now at the center of said pyramid, he saw a huge stone archway through which was the greatest prize of the serpent lord. He slithered under the arch to see scores of human scientists scurrying back and forth between their computer banks. All in their lab coats, all indistinguishable from each other. Mubarak, the serpent lord 's viceroy, screamed his orders at those in the huge laboratory and they complied as best they could as the laboratory trembled. They were all so intent on making the final plan ready and ignoring the sounds of war outside, that they had not even noticed Apophis coming.

As for the son of Manda, no, the grandson of Tiamat, he looked up from the minuscule little humans and upwards at a huge ball of fire held in a force-field chamber. It was Ra, the living sun whose power the first peoples of Egypt had used to form Anubis, Horus, Sobek and Set so long ago. As a miniature star, only an energy wall had been capable of holding it; a wall of solid matter would have been vaporized. The generators making the field were as large as buildings and dominated the room. Ra shone as a sphere of pure white and would have blinded all those had not been obscured.

In Apophis mind ran the thought that, though it would be the death of him, if the myths were to say he would swallow the sun, it was time for everyone to know why.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Four

Set was sent reeling back from a triple head blow the enemy dealt him; yet he rose on his feet when he saw King of Terror held back by Sobek 's jaws clamped on his hip. Brimming with fury, the chaos child rushed King Ghidorah in a red rage and began a berserk attack. In his weakened state, the Prince of Skyllans was felled again and was at Set's mercy. As for mercy, there was little as Set ruthlessly pummeled his enemy with the brutal strength of gorilla like fists. The space demon writhed on his back as his two outside hydra heads shot forward to clamp their burning jaws and poisoned needle teeth onto the chaos child 's eyes.

The titanic Set reared back and wailed in agony as blood spurt out from his burning eyes. Yet even in this blinded state he returned the blow as he opened his maw and let vomited a torrent of hydrochloric acid from within his bowels on the now standing King Ghidorah. He used his bone-crunching hyena jaws to tear out the ruined flesh; yet even as he did that, the still smoking King of Terror wrapped his constricting inner neck around Set's throat to suffocate him. Set began squirming in his foe's grasp and began gasping for breath as he felt his windpipe throttled. Then with his two outer heads, the ravaged space demon sent full force Gravity Beams at Sobek and Anubis as they tried to help Set.

Sent flying by the blasts and now scrambling amidst the rubble-strewn streets of ruined Cairo to dodge further Bolts, the monsters' ends seemed nigh. Then the whole city seemed to tremble with the force of an earthquake and King Ghidorah's two outer heads began to futilely scan in all directions to see what was happening. Sensing the demon's confusion, Set wrenched free from his hated enemy's grasp and scrambled towards his comrade monsters. If Set was right in his thoughts, then he and his fellow monsters were going to have a bit of help. As for King Ghidorah, his only exasperated thought was that he was to face yet more minions of the serpent lord.

The land bucked and swayed and then the ground surrounding the Pyramids of Apophis seemed to crack open. Blinding light and super-hot compressed air shot out from the cracks; that was when a bizarre slurping sound was heard. Set, Anubis, and Sobek saw the bloody, almost liquefied, remains of the Seven Scorpions fly through the air from their scattered locations and continuously fall into one gigantic pile. The Prince of Skyllans paid no heed to it for all his attentions were focused on the sight before him.

Then, in one final, tremendous explosion, the Pyramid of Apophis burst apart and a blinding surge of light came that illuminated all around. The rush of wind and the surge of light were both tremendous and rubble was sent flying. As it died down, King Ghidorah looked through the haze to see what he hoped that he would see. He saw it and was not disappointed.

Levitating above the crater was the son of Manda, but not as so many knew him. His body was now seemingly tripled in length and his now unending coils wound and wound in the form of golden light. From halfway through his gold glowing form was a pair of wings made of solar energy. Having swallowed the sun, he was now Super Apophis and was virtually a being of pure energy against which no foe could stand. Super Apophis only had three hours before the energy of Ra killed him but he in that time he would destroy his enemy.

Or so it seemed, the King of Terror always did appreciate a challenge and on seeing the son of his enemy come at last King Ghidorah smiled. It was time for battle.

Mubarak saw his master readied for the final battle. He was in the ruined remains of the main laboratory and oversaw the carnage from a cracked and static scrambled view screen. The nameless scientists in their tattered lab coats saw this as they looked blankly towards the screen. They all turned around to see the remains of their workstations. Tables overturned, small fires burning, papers scattered, smoke, rubble; the resultant explosion when their master had taken the Ra star into himself had caused much damage. Then, all as one, the scientists turned towards Mubarak as if asking what to do next.

Mubarak realized this and knew he had to continue in his master 's stead. He dusted off his robes and cleared his throat. "You all now that I am the most powerful being in Egypt after Lord Apophis. He has chosen me to rule as his regent, should he be unable to make his wishes known. For how long he will fight, I do not now. For now we must seek shelter and continue the work of his kingdom, as he would wish it.

"Lord Apophis's orders were clear. He does not want aid in the slightest. The battle against this is his and his alone. However, should the unthinkable happen and he be defeated… we will avenge him. And for that, we have the perfect weapon. We must ready the tool of the master's vengeance."

"Come with me!"

Thus, the scientists in their tattered lab coats silently walked where Mubarak led them. Through winding tunnels and deep corridors, they went with him.

King Ghidorah and Super Apophis were in a stare down; they were circling each other ever so slowly and the survivors of the big four; Sobek, Anubis, and Set, were surrounding them. Along with the big four was Septimus Scorpio, the titanic combined form of the Seven Scorpions, merged by Super Apophis coming. The final form of the serpent lord then hissed a most hideous screech and fired a blast of light from his energy made wings.

As for King Ghidorah he just stood there and took the full force of the solar beam as best he could, his toes digging groves into the ground as he was pushed back. The torrent of power was seemingly too much for him and he would have been fallen if he hadn't braced himself. Yet despite the agony the attack sent coursing through him, the Prince of Skyllans refused to move, he refused to bend. He in fact stretched his wings to the utmost to embrace the pain that much more.

Incensed by the gall of his foe, Super Apophis increased the force of the beams fired from his energy wings into a blinding fury of nuclear force. He increased his attack's energy, more and more, until he stopped cold and could fire no more. He stopped and his long, seemingly endless coils contracted and expanded with every breath he took. He knew not what he would he see, yet to be sure he turned his golden head and cast a glance to where his foe had stood.

Dust and smoke clouded the air, yet in the haze something moved. As the haze parted, there stood King Ghidorah. Seemingly immortal and utterly uninjured, he silently hovered there. No energy beams save those of a Supersaur could harm him—indeed, others would only feed him. And even for a Supersaur's beams, King Ghidorah could raise a shield to protect himself. Barely hovering above the ground, the Prince of Skyllans shone with a strange glow.

Then the space demon spat out an unending barrage of Gravity Beams and Crimson Lightning from his heads and his wings. Super Apophis wailed in agony and was thrown back by the force of the blast. King Ghidorah was able to do this not because he was an energy absorber to steal his own foe's strength and use it to pound him into the ground. No, there was a far darker reason; the Prince of Skyllans was a sin eater and a sin eater grows fat from his enemies' delicious hatred.

Yet his combined assault of Gravity Beams and Crimson Lightning on Super Apophis was stopped when the reformed Big Four did a combined assault on him! Sobek, Set, Anubis and Scorpio all simultaneously leapt on him, attacking all the while. Buried underneath the crocodile, the hyena, the jackal, and the scorpion, and drowned by their blows; the enraged King Ghidorah blasted them off for what seemed to be the fourth time. Energized from the absorption of Super Apophis's hate, the space demon was ready to deal his maggots their deathblow.

Hugging the ground and with pincers clacking, Septimus Scorpio raced towards his foe. But King Ghidorah surged into the sky in one leap over his foe and spun in the air to crash his club tails into the face of Anubis. The jackal had followed Scorpio to lend aid but was know writhing in agony on the ground. Death itself was dying from the spines the size of eighteen wheelers that had impaled themselves into his skull to deliver their corrosive venom.

Set charged with no fear against his foe, screaming like a devil all the while. The hyena-ape hurled his full weight against King Ghidorah as if issuing some mad tackle. In one fluid move Set swung around towards his foe's back. His hugely muscled arms almost snapped the other necks as they swept them aside and he clamped his hyena jaws onto the left neck to crush it with unmatched teeth. With his gorilla arms holding the foe in a crushing vise, Set's septic iron jaws clamped again and again on the space demon's necks. The King of Terror's blood was pure poison and thus Set was only killing himself, but he didn't care.

Enraged, the demon prepared to electrocute the two by a wave of voltage through his skin but that was then a set of crocodilian jaws clamped with the force of vise on his hips, as if to wrench it off. Having had enough of the killer croc and seeing in Sobek something of his eternal enemy, Godzilla, Ghidorah twisted his necks around Set's jaws long enough for him to fire a combined Triple Beam of such force that he was able to decapitate Sobek. However, the space demon was still in agony due to the head whose iron jaws and iron teeth were stuck on his body. If he only knew that that pain would only be added too.

That was because it was then that King Ghidorah screamed in red-hot agony feeling excruciating pain lance through him. Septimus Scorpio had impaled his mighty stinger through the space demon's soft belly, regardless of acid blood. Hundreds of gallons of burning venom were being pumped in and were already working their torturous wonders. King Ghidorah attempted to move but the scorpion titan was hugging the ground and clamped its pincers onto his foe's feet. Every movement shredded the demon's pseudo flesh. Horus, creation of Isis all those millennia ago just as the scorpion was, whom he had sworn to protect, was dead. For that the Scorpion would have his vengeance.

Pain and suffering roared through his body. Wound after wound appeared. But the Prince of Skyllans let himself go limp. He let the pain clear his mind and let his foes send pain upon him. King Ghidorah knew what pain was. He felt it, dealt it, needed it. Hatred was his strength, yet it was the weakness of others. He let the wounds pile on him and closed his eyes. He then let his insane, unholy thoughts flow from his mind towards the mind of the son of his enemy.

Apophis was the son of Manda who had, along with others, imprisoned him in the sphere of orihalcym those twelve thousand years ago. Apophis was the grandson of Tiamat, the dragoness who had had the gall to challenge his might and who had paid for it dearly. Apophis was the great-grandson of the Great Dragon whose children, the dinosaurs, had been the first to suffer King Ghidorah's wrath. Apophis with his lust for power was almost someone whom the Star of Doom could admire, though, admiration or not, he'd still have butchered the wrymling smiling.

As for the son of Manda, his golden glowing form was bleeding golden glowing blood atop a pile of rubble. He was injured from the blow he had been dealt. Injured, but not dead. The mind inside the coral horned and whiskered head was still very much awake. Awake and being poisoned by the hatred and madness seeping inside from an outside source. More hatred, more rage, more evil, they all flowed into his soul. It was hatred for King Ghidorah.

It was hatred for having brought ruin to his land. Hatred for having killed his grandmother. Hatred for his forces having been humiliated on the field of battle. Hatred for being beaten. Hatred for the fact that King Ghidorah, that perverted obscenity that was the enemy of all the children of the Great Dragon, simply was. Beneath golden eyelids, an eye twitched back and forth. The hatred flooded into his mind. Super Apophis's eye began twitching more and more.

Then the eye flew open.

King Ghidorah sent his club tails crashing upwards around Set's waist towards his back and tore the spiny clubs across it. Bleeding and in agony, the screaming Set fell back and was forced to let go as the space demon loosed Crimson Lightning from his wings upon him. Then the space demon clamped the burning jaws of his outer heads on the tail impaled through his belly and shoved the stinger straight through!

Shocked, Septimus Scorpio felt his stinger and tail pulled with such force that he was lifted off the ground and he felt a burning, crushing force on the end of the tail. King Ghidorah had impaled himself all the way through his belly with the envenomed lance and tore it, gore dripping, from out his back with his inner head. As for the scorpion, reeling in burning agony, the force of it left his tail torn off from his abdomen. Septimus Scorpio was dying an ugly painful death from pain and shock and blood loss. What then?

Holding Septimus Scorpio's stinger in his teeth, the masochistic King Ghidorah used it to impale the scorpion through the head and pin him to the ground. The three-headed monster then calmly removed Sobek's still-clamped head from his hips.

The most indomitable of beasts, the bloodied, bruised, blinded, and nearly broken Set surged forwards. Though burned by the spray of acid blood, he shot his gorilla-like fists into the pulpy, shredded wound in the space demon's back and tore it open again; though the beast knew he would die, he'd go to hell rejoicing if his enemy would just go there first! The Prince of Skyllans arched his back and screamed as Set vomited hydrochloric acid from his maw into the wound. Then the chaos child's Kong-like strength tore it open further so that his bile dripping teeth savaged the twenty-foot deep wound.

But then a blinding flash of light blasted Set from his back. King Ghidorah turned his three heads towards the charred, flaming, blackened, smoking corpse atop the rubble. The Prince of Skyllans turned to where the blast had come. Super Apophis was fairly fuming in a mad rage; with power fueled by hatred, he was ready to take bloody revenge. King Ghidorah would be his kill!

It was just as King Ghidorah wanted it. Now it was just the two of them with no one else to get in the way. It was just as the Prince of Skyllans wanted it. Now glorious war would be waged between two enemies. Now at last, seemingly thought the King of Terror, the real game begins.

In the command station of the G-Force ship Freedom, Commander Ahmed was in a heated argument, via vidphone, with his superior officer, Commander Aso. "Sir, I have to go in and do something! I demand permission to go and neutralize the threat immediately!"

"Negative," replied G-Force's ever-grim supreme leader. "Your forces are to remain outside Egyptian borders and not intervene. We have a hard enough time dealing with King Ghidorah without having to deal with both him and Apophis at once."

"But sir," protested Commander Ahmed, "those two monsters will destroy the city unless they're stopped."

"The city already is destroyed Ahmed. That space monster's killed everything in it and he'll kill you if you go; as for the people there, they're already dead. I've been fighting Godzilla for over a decade and I know that the last thing you need is to have your men commit suicide. With the world at stake, we can't afford to lose any men needlessly."

"But-"

"But don't you talk back to me!" yelled Commander Aso. "I outrank you; I give the orders! A general ordering his troops to their deaths to accomplish a mission is one thing, having them march into a deathtrap for no reason at all is just plain stupid. Its hard seeing your city destroyed? Tough! Try being from Japan and seeing Tokyo get trampled by Godzilla every other day! The best thing you can do is let King Ghidorah and Apophis fight and hope they destroy each other. If King Ghidorah does survive, then move in and finish him off."

"If?" There was an angry tone in Ahmed's voice as he spoke. "Sir, that devil has already killed every last one of Mubarak's one hundred Ookondru's, wiped out the entire Egyptian army, leveled two major cities to rubble since arriving mere hours ago, killed off the Seven Scorpions twice, and not only survived the Big Four's assault but ground them into paste!"

Glaring from the vidscreen, Aso growled, "You said it yourself on TV, soldier! You obey my orders. If King Ghidorah has survived all that, he's all the weaker for it and this Super Apophis that Matsu's pictures show might just be enough to finish the that space monster off. I'll be coming to Africa soon enough to oversee the deployment of Tuol; Espinoza's men have confirmed its at the Kenya/Tanzania border and is ready to follow its orders. When I get there, I had better see that you obeyed your orders as well.

"Over and out."

Aso vanished from the vidscreen. When Ahmed saw that, he let his anger out and angrily pounded the edge of the table with his fist. He had joined G-Force to save Egypt from Apophis, not to let Apophis destroy it! He would see Aso hang for this! Until then… Ahmed let himself calm down and his temper cool. A leader of soldiers has to be in control of himself at all times, even if it meant having ice water in his veins, even if it meant having to " 'endure the unendurable.' " This was, of course, true in wartime, especially in wartime.

Ahmed bitterly turned towards the major at his side. "Major, have my forces ready for battle, have everything in perfect readiness and waiting for the merest signal. The battle plans are unchanged; the officers' in the field know what they must do. But also have them know, have them all know, that we will not go in until one of the monsters, King Ghidorah or Super Apophis is dead. Let them destroy each other and we will be the ones to sort them out."

The major had hoped that he would hear that they would be going into fight, but he had known inside that this would be the order. "Yes, sir."

King Ghidorah dodged Super Apophis's lunge and set his own jaws to snap and slash at the serpent lord's flesh. Marshaling all his strength, the son of Manda neither felt nor cared for the space demon's Taint. Shooting through the air by anti-gravity, Super Apophis feigned a lunge to the right and went to the left where his foe's exposed side was. He plunged his ten-foot fangs all the way into his foe's flesh and just as quickly removed them; Septimus Scorpio's mistake would not be his.

King Ghidorah was getting dizzy from having both the serpent's and the scorpion's poisons in him, not to mention the septic, bacterial saliva from Set. Even so, he refused to give into the pain, he refused to be bested by a mere wrymling! He had bested the father; he would not be bested by the son! He charged Super Apophis as he shot his Gravity Beams in all directions. However, the serpent lord with his sinuous twisting coils dodged each attack effortlessly. King Ghidorah stopped his attack and began another one; hurricane winds. The son of Manda fell to the ground with such winds and was battered by the flying rubble.

As glass and steel and concrete rained against him, Super Apophis spread his energy wings and fired solar beams from their flaming tips. They cut through the flying rubble to strike their target head on and left the Prince of Skyllans in pain. Super Apophis may not have been a Supersaur, but, as child of the Great Dragon, he was close enough. Before King Ghidorah could recover, Super Apophis lunged forward and wrapped himself about his foe in a python's grip. The space monster felt his body being crushed from without by the grip and burned from within by yet more venom.

King Ghidorah loosed a current of electricity through his skin and that managed to loosen the son of Manda enough for him to pry off with his heads. Quicker than lightning, he wheeled about to clamp Super Apophis between his two club tails and tossed him aside like a rag doll. Super Apophis was sent flying and was about to fall onto a pile of rubble than had been a hospital when he slowed down and stopped himself in midair. Wincing in pain from the bleeding, gore oozing sores in his sides dealt from King Ghidorah's clubs, he nonetheless steeled himself for another assault.

"This is Connie Matsu, live on the scene!" screamed the reporter over the sound of helicopter propellers. Barely audible, she narrated what her cameraman filmed as she leaned out from the helicopter door. "As you can all see, King Ghidorah and Super Apophis are engaged in a battle to the death amidst the flaming field of rubble, that mere hours ago, was Cairo, Egypt." Indeed, people watching the broadcast from United World Television News' Godzilla Watch Network could see the two monsters make war below the reporter's helicopter. The people at home saw the two monsters firing energy blasts at one another or striking with fang and claw. "The battle has gone on for hours now with no decisive victor in sight. Strangely enough, it is this reporter's sincere hope, indeed Commander Ahmed's hope, that Apophis win."

Connie Matsu bit her lower lip and brushed her short hair from her face. "At the moment, King Ghidorah, weakened from all his earlier battles, is reeling from Super Apophis assault. However, we have seen the space monster seemingly on the brink of defeat before only to see him attack more fiercely and claim victory. If in the event that the space demon should win, Commander Ahmed's forces stand ready to continue where their former foe left off." Matsu turned back towards the inside of the cramped helicopter to face the camera.

"This has become an increasingly common sight around the world. Black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, all God's children join hands and work together. Even if for no other reason than that they want to live, enemies become allies and old grievances are forgotten. United for one goal, all men stand together against a common enemy.

"So please, if you hear this, stand ready together and protect one another. There have already been too many cases of global riots and chaos and the breakdown of all order. The fears and hatreds that cause this madness are just what King Ghidorah wants and we cannot let him have them. We must band together and join as friends. Only by putting aside our petty differences and joining as one people, as one planet, can we hope to beat King Ghidorah and win the Monster Wars."

Super Apophis crashed to the ground and saw a looming shadow above him. He just barely managed to dodge King Ghidorah's talons in time yet he still felt the force when his foe's talons struck the rubble next to him. The son of Manda then snapped his whole body like a whip to trip his foe. Unwilling to be felled again, King Ghidorah leapt up to dodge and then fell down to rake his talons across the serpent's body. Gritting himself through the pain, Super Apophis struck upwards and plunged his fangs into the space demon's thigh to deal his venom.

Intolerable! The Prince of Skyllans would have no more! If the wrymling wanted venom he would have venom! With that rage, King Ghidorah cast his heads onto his foe's neck and clamped his burning teeth onto the serpent lord's neck an in attempt to pry him off. Super Apophis wouldn't budge and braced himself through the pain of the demon's Taint as it withered his flesh. King Ghidorah would tolerate no such things and ripped the son of Manda from his thigh with a piece of thigh still in his mouth. The force of it tore Super Apophis's fangs out; he was in agony for that and for the acid blood that washed over his face for it.

King Ghidorah then reclamped his jaws along the length of Super Apophis's body and plunged his own needle teeth straight to the bone. The serpent lord was in pain as his head smoked and his skin was pierced. The son of Manda then wriggled like a fish on a hook as he felt his strength sucked out and necrotic corruption seep in. King Ghidorah then raised his necks high with Super Apophis on them, as high as his 150 meters could go, and he brought them crashing down. He rose his necks up and brought them and Super Apophis crashing down.

Again and again the Earth was made to shake until Connie Matsu thought that the ground would be purple with a bruise. This was her last thought before she was made to leave by Mubarak 's orders. Yet, as her helicopter pilot took her away, she never knew how fortunate she had been. Even if she had survived what happened next, if she were to have stayed any longer, she would have either gone mad in a few months from the Fear or would have been sickened and died from the Taint.

One last time was the serpent lord brought crashing down; then that was it. King Ghidorah had pounded his foe into submission long enough and it was time to end it. Pinning Super Apophis to the ground with his feet and ignoring the burns from the serpent lord's energy wings, King Ghidorah brought his heads together and had them come to the middle of his enemy's back. The son of Manda then writhed in agony and wailed the banshee wail of things long dead at the bloody pain caused by having his very spine torn out from his body. The Prince of Skyllans wrenched it out with gore splattering all over him, wrenched it out past the shredded skin, and wrenched it out past the mutilated flesh. King Ghidorah had torn Super Apophis's spinal cord out of the body, and was dripping scarlet across both all the while. The three-headed monster pulled and tore with all three heads until with a wet sickening sound the spinal cord finally snapped.

Super Apophis screamed and thrashed like an epileptic in a mad seizure, blood sprayed out and the ground trembled. Yet this was only for one moment. When that moment was past, the son of Manda went limp for he was no more. The golden glow left him and the energy wings disappeared. After so many battles, Egypt's last defender was dead.

Yet this was not enough for King Ghidorah.

King Ghidorah reversed the polarity of his Gravity Beams and ever so slowly levitated Apophis into the air. He then kept using the Beams from his outer heads to suspend the mutilated corpse of the serpent while the central head reverted to its function of augmenting gravitational forces. The central head's beam would have to be applied ever so gently and it would take several hours to achieve the desired effect. What effect would that be? That effect would be a most gruesome one. King Ghidorah had sensed from the first that Super Apophis's energy signature as one similar to that of a star and that struck him as most interesting. This was why.

When the Archao Space Hunters created King Ghidorah all those millions of years ago, they programmed him with a great deal of information to make him totally self sufficient and thus more efficient a killer. Part of that information was the evolution of stars. When a star dies it will often fold in on itself and implode by its own gravitational force. So, by logical extension, if intense gravitational force were to be applied to Apophis who had absorbed a miniature star into himself…

"Done."

"And not a moment too soon," retorted Anwar Mubarak. He looked across the laboratory towards the scientist that had said that. "Are you sure that it is ready? Are you sure that it will work."

"Yes, sir." The Egyptian scientist looked up from his computer station. "I would stake my life on it."

"We all are." With that, the viceroy of Apophis looked down from the raised platform he was on to those gathered around. "Well men, this is it. This is how it's all going to end. I was once a soldier in the Egyptian army and placed all my faith in it. Thus when Egypt lost the war I was without purpose, without reason for being. Yet when I found Lord Apophis, I found a new faith, and it was faith in the serpent lord. He promised a world free from worry and responsibility. He gave us everything we have yet now his sweet kingdom is at an end. It is because the master is dying and without Apophis, there is no Egypt.

"Despite all out efforts, despite our best warriors—both human and monster—, we have failed. King Ghidorah has won. Yet this is but one battle of the Monster Wars, the Monster Wars that can still be won in Earth's favor. And they will be won, for all who would defy Lord Apophis must die, if not by his hand than by another. We were unable to ready this final weapon in time to aid the master and his other servants. Yet it will still be used for if the master's kingdom cannot be saved, then it will at least be avenged."

The lab they were in was rather identical to the one where they had held Ra. Yet what was held there was a far greater secret than what had been held in the Pyramid of Apophis. Here was none other than the sleeping form of Apophis's own brother: Quetzalcoatl. The men and women remembered their leader's words and looked to their feet. The ten-foot thick glass that they stood on covered the gigantic one hundred-foot wide and deep pit Quetzalcoatl was in. Though the glass obscured the winged serpent's features, none could say he was not Apophis's brother. That the two were enemies, it was true, but blood connected them and each would have revenge for the other.

Or so it was hoped. All that Mubarak knew was that the stasis chamber holding Quetzalcoatl would open if Apophis died. Perhaps the youngest son of Manda so hated the eldest that he would be glad that his brother was dead. But no, Mubarak knew that that would never happen; one brother would not leave the other unavenged. Thus there was only one thing left to do.

"My fellow servants of Apophis, our master will soon die and we have no purpose in life other than serving him. So then, if that purpose is lost to us, what reason do we have left to go on living? None. Thus my fellow servants hear my words and know my actions. Let us do one last act of service to our beloved master."

Having said that, Anwar Mubarak, alleged dictator of Egypt, leader of armies, and most loyal of slaves to the serpent lord took a vial of his venom from his coat. He held it out before him for all to see. The men and women who had served Apophis alongside him and who had sought to make the last weapon of vengeance for their master held out their vials of venom as well. Mubarak smiled. "DIE FOR APOPHIS!" he screamed and with that drank the venom of son of Manda.

The others drank their poison as well and screamed "DIE FOR APOPHIS!"

By this time, King Ghidorah had been applying Gravity Beams to the levitated Apophis for hours and said monster was now a twisted into a crushed bloody ball of ground meat. The son of Manda was now totally unrecognizable; his skin had exploded underneath the stress to reveal the flesh within. Yet a golden glow came from within him and it increased as the intensity of the Gravity beams did. It grew brighter and brighter until it finally exploded.

Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. In a matter of seconds, the stellar energies of Ra inside Apophis went nova and brought forth a nuclear explosion the likes of which had not been seen since time began. The resultant holocaust was as if the sun had come to Earth, and it had, it had. Every home, every hospital, every building was atomized by a destructive force the likes of which even man, in all his destructive genius, had never equaled. The effect was nothing less than complete and utter devastation.

The people of the world had been frightened when a bomb fifty times that of Hiroshima nearly struck Tokyo in the year 1985? The explosion that rocked Egypt was a thousand times that of that first murderous weapon. There were none to see though, but if there had been they would have been blinded ten miles away from the searing light. The mushroom cloud, however, could have safely been seen from a far enough distance. Though God knew that that distance extended to space and that many a satellite was shorted out by the sheer glare. Thus, all Egypt and its entire ecosystem were instantaneously shattered forever and all the millions who dwelled therein… died.

Egypt was not the only one to feel it. Seismologists from across the Philippines recorded it as an earthquake at ten on the Richter scale, an earthquake felt across the world. In Saudi Arabia, buildings across the capital of Riyadh trembled and fell. Turkey and Greece were inundated by tsunamis generated by the explosion. From eastern Libya to the Sinai, the firestorm came in a wave that incinerated all it touched for hundreds of miles around. Across the globe, the fall out fell like gray poisoned snow and the Middle East, already dying from the radiation, wouldn't see the sun shine for ten years.

Then at last it was done.

Back in what had once been Egypt, the explosion had turned the rubble-strewn ground of the blast site into a smooth crater of glass with shadows burned into the glass as the only indicator that anything had ever been. All that, not to mention that there was radiation to poison the land for a hundred years sixty miles in all directions. Everything was silent amidst the dust choked, hazy, grayness, everything save for the soft sound of a mourning wind. All was calm. The glassy ground seemed utterly unblemished, especially at Ground Zero.

But then it cracked. The glass cracked and was pushed upwards by something from below. Amidst the seemingly endless area made perfectly smooth by the blast wave, this was nothing, just an infinitesimal speck. In fact, it was the world's worst nightmare still alive and still ready to make the Earth bleed.

The ground had been made smooth as glass and breaking from beneath that glass was King Ghidorah. He had survived; he always survived. He pulled himself up and stood in the state of seeming nothingness, yet he was not King Ghidorah as so many knew him. His face was even more hideous than before and seemed even more dangerous. His crown of horns was replaced by just two backward curving horns on each head and strange tufts of hair behind the horns. They were almost manes, much like that of Apophis.

This was no coincidence, for in the explosion King Ghidorah had absorbed much energy from Apophis's exploding form and in that some of his physical appearance. Not only that, but his powers as well. King Ghidorah had before been able to command the thoughts of others and induce Fear. With the mind control abilities stolen from the son of Manda, the Fear that King Ghidorah would be able to induce in others would truly have no equal, as would be the command of monsters.

Apophis had been a fool to oppose him as had been his father and his grandmother. With the land made desolation all knew it. King Ghidorah began to appreciate the powers he now had and would use them for the sake of beauty. Indeed, King Ghidorah saw beauty in the ruin he caused. Although the smoke and dust and fallout and debris in the air were still the likes that he couldn't see more than a few feet in front of himself, that in itself was enough to make demonic grins spread across his evil faces. The destruction, all of it, was so absolute, so all consuming, that it was beautiful.

Making gravity warp beneath him, King Ghidorah spread his wings and rose in a slow spiral from the ground. Cloaked in the dust and smoke and hellish heat like the Prince of Darkness, the Prince of Skyllans tilted his heads back and drank it all in. He was a true sadist, obtaining a perverse sexual satisfaction from the pain and death wrought by his hand. Yet this was but the beginning. King Ghidorah shot into the sky and was soon a speck in the air from ground zero where he had been. The rest of the Earth would soon join Egypt in ruin, for when King Ghidorah would be done… Earth… would… be damned!

Egypt was done. The world was next.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Five

Connie Matsu stared numbly at the camera pointed at her, unable to say a word. She was trembling slightly and whenever she tried to say something, the word would freeze in her mouth. Her cameraman, despite having thought he was too jaded to be fazed by anything couldn't motivate her to say a word. Matsu just looked blankly into space with a microphone next to her face. Then at last, a word did slip from her mouth. "Cut."

That actually forced the cameraman out of his stupor. "What?"

"You heard me Ronnie. Cut! Tell the station that we're having technical problems or that the radiation is messing things up. I don't know. I just can't do this."

Ronnie the cameraman put his cell phone to his ear and nodded. He put it and the camera away. "Don't have to worry about that Connie. Ahmed just ordered a news blackout on all this. Nothing that happened after we left King Ghidorah's and Super Apophis's fight is going out until he says so. The assault he planned against King Ghidorah has been called off too."

Matsu then walked to the side of the ship and placed her arms on the guardrail. Shivering in the night air and silently sobbing, she lifted her head to look up towards what was had once been Egypt. Even though her helicopter had made it to the Freedom in time and the Freedom had made it far enough out to sea that the blast wave hadn't caused any serious damage, the Godzilla Watch Network Reporter could still see the destruction in the distance. And her heart still ached for those there.

Around Ground Zero, she saw a small mountain range created by thrown up boulders. Around them, fires burned in all directions, from horizon to horizon. They gave an eerie red glow in the darkness. Seeing the ugly smoke rise into the night sky made Matsu shake inside. Mary in heaven, she almost felt like a vulture in making a living by telling people of the misery wrought here.

Matsu's cameraman could only see her back as she faced away from him, over the guardrail. He then heard a sad, tired voice, coming from her. "Ronnie, you asked why I wanted you to cut. Well its because I'm a human being and I don't want to be some scavenger that profits off of the misery of others. We're United World News, not The National Enquirer, not Super Mystery Magazine. I wonder if this was how Steven Martin felt about reporting on Tokyo after it was destroyed."

Ronnie put his hand on Matsu's shoulder and squeezed. "He did feel like this and even worse because one of the people who died was his best friend, but he knew that he had a job to do and that he was the only one to do it. Connie, you've got to pull yourself together; the story has to be told and you're the one people will look to be to be told it. You're—"

She yanked her shoulder away from Ronnie's grip and cut him off. "Don't you start on that, that I'm the 'second Steven Martin.' I never asked for a title like that and I don't want it! I don't plan to go on and become a miserable old woman who can do nothing but mumble about monsters; I don't even want to mumble about monsters now. I said, 'This looks like a scene from some Denham disaster movie!' My God, the original ape-napper himself couldn't think up something like this after smoking a room full of crack!

"Ahmed was right to call a news blackout, y'know. He wants to prevent a panic. He knows that he can't keep this a secret; sooner or later, the people are going to find out. But to have everyone know like this! …It would smash what little hope all those poor people around the world have."

She sighed and paused for a moment before continuing. "I never thought that we'd ever see something this crazy. I remember when we were the only ones on the scene when Kong and Godzilla had their big tussle on Mt. Fuji way back. Heck, that was how we got our jobs! I thought that that was it, y'know, fight of the century and all that. The two mightiest monsters of all times, nothing could top it.

"But I look at this and… oh I don't know. It reminds you of the Cold War … Its like how back then you lived in the shadow of doomsday and couldn't do anything but wait for the bombs to start falling. People were waiting for a nuclear winter. With what happened to Apophis, does that mean that we're not going to see the sunshine for who knows how many years and that we're going to die in the dark and in the cold like the dinosaurs did? Did you see what happened! This is friggin doomsday!"

"This… this scares me Ronnie."

"You're not the only one Connie. I'm scared too."

She looked up from over the side of the ship and turned towards her longtime friend. "Are you sure about that? I'm not scared for my life. I'm scared for all of us. I've heard those kill-crazy cultists pray for Ghidorah to destroy the world. What if they are right? What if this really is the end and there is nothing we can do to stop it?"

Ronnie put a comforting hand over his shaking, sobbing friend's shoulder. "We can't give up Connie. Remember what you told the people back home. We can do this if we work together. It'll be tough, but we are going to stop that monster. We've got to.

"But if we can't stop that thing and we all die anyway, then we're gonna die fighting. So that space monster has killed off planets before, what's to make us think that we're special that we'll do any better? Maybe nothing, but I'll bet that those other planets didn't roll over and give King Ghidorah what he wanted, no siree. They fought to the very end without giving up and if they could so can we."

Connie sniffed and smiled a sad smile. She looked to Ronnie and wiped a tear of her cheek. "Buddy," she weakly said, "I think you've been watching too many movies."

He then looked towards the flaming horizon and sighed. "Yeah, well let's hope that the heroes really can win in this one."

The place that had once been the city of Alexandria was now desolation where everything was smashed flat. It looked like the end of the world and anyone there would have half expected the damned to stagger about dressed in rags or stuffing their mouths with ash. However, while they were not the lost souls of the inferno, the last pathetic surviving dregs of the King of Terror's mindless victims were indeed wandering the ruins in silence and despair. Already the Taint had reduced them to diseased skeletons. Everywhere the darkness of night was broken only by the sickly red light of countless funeral pyres set among the choking dust laden air. Indeed, it wasn't just the stench of burning flesh that made Godzilla's eyes water.

The King of the Monsters overlooked the devastation and was blasted to the depths of his soul and wondered if there was no end to Ghidorah's evil. By the Great Tyrannosaur, it was the Cretaceous Extinction all over again… What few whimpering survivors that remained were broken husks lost in the shadows; mothers were childless and children were orphaned, just as had happened when the space demon struck his pack all those eons ago. The broken lament and tragic cries echoed so horribly that only a heart of stone could not be broken.

Godzilla looked about and beheld a landscape of unending blackness broken by red fire where buildings were smashed flat and corpses littered the ground like confetti. He saw hospitals and schools made so much rubble and that the children that had gone to both were bloody paste smeared across the stones. He beheld destruction and suffering and death the likes of which nobody should ever know. If this wasn't what Hell looked like, then Godzilla was seeing the closest approximation that he ever would.

The King of the Monsters was not an evil creature. He took no pleasure in the suffering of others, not even when he was the cause of it. Even with all his battles with the humans and with all the cities destroyed, he had never sought to cause ruin on this scale. That he would punish human sinners for their evil, 'twas true. But he could not, would not, punish the guilty at the cost of the innocent. Miki taught him that when she made him spare Tokyo in 1985.

Godzilla felt a tear for the humans come from him as he looked on the devastation. That was when he realized what he was doing and shook himself from his stupor. He then banished such soft thoughts from his mind. All humans were evil; they had to be for they were his enemies. He couldn't let himself feel pity for the same wretched mammals that built their miserable rat holes atop the blood and bones of his people. He couldn't show mercy to the same insects that had stolen the world that so rightfully belonged to the saurian race!

The last vestiges of the saurian empire, the Lost World and Skull Island, had lived in peace for eons. Yet in both cases the humans destroyed these final refuges of the children of the Great Tyrannosaur in a matter of years after their discovery. If the humans could do such things, if they would leave a five billion-year-old Earth dying in a mere two centuries, then they deserved whatever fate awaited them! Humans were evil and they all deserved to die.

…Didn't they?

"Excuse me," said the passing pedestrian.

"Y-yes… of course," replied Kyle Martin. It was very common to accidentally bump into someone in a crowded city. What had happened to the kaijuologist was nothing special. What was extraordinary was who had bumped into him. It was of all people, a yeti. A snowman!

He was not the only one in shock. Miki nervously looked back and forth at all the yeti, or watchika as they called themselves. In searching for way to help Tenzin Yetrigar become a giant to fight King Ghidorah, she and Kyle had followed him into this mountain and had seen what there was to see. She had seen a thriving underground city and a rain forest more fitting for Africa. Salno had told Kyle and herself that although the Simeons had long ago adapted to snow and mountains in becoming the Watchika, they had never forgotten the verdant jungles of their home world. Both the jungle—which was made up of home world plants—and the city were illuminated by an aurora borealis that gave off both light and heat. Because of it, they were now walking without their warm clothes.

She had always prided herself on being open-minded and on welcoming the new or different. That, along with her powers, had set her apart from the other people on Odo Island. Perhaps because she was different, Miki had sought to be tolerant of differences. Yet this! A whole civilization of non-humans, of ape-men! It was almost too much for her to take in. The previous lost civilizations that the human race had encountered had at least been human or human like.

"And what does being a Homo Sapiens have to do with it?" asked the telepathic Belvera. She looked from her seat on Fairy. "A person is a person, right? Besides, we're all in this fight together. If the US and the USSR could play nice to fight the Nazis and later the Mysterians, why can't humans and non-humans work together now?"

Miki looked around and saw that all around her. She was on a twenty-foot wide stone bridge overlooking a steaming hot subterranean jungle hundreds of feet below. She could feel the heat and the vapor rising up and heard the cries of monkeys. A city and a jungle both inside the Himalayan mountain range, the sheer thought still staggered her. On the stone pathway, several yetis were passing them, yetis! Though they were less and less as they began to reach the end of the bridge.

Miki had known what to expect; Yetrigar had told her. But it was still amazing. Not only were the fabled "abominable snowmen" real, but they had built Shangri-La and maintained a thriving ecosystem inside a mountainside. She shook her head. "No Belvera, you're right. A person is a person, whether he or she is a human or not. It's just a bit much to take this in all at once."

Belvera mischievously smirked as she heard that. "When Godzilla first came, Yamani compared it to prints of snowmen found in these mountains. This is weird, but like they say, it's not like Godzilla's normal."

Miki smiled. "Got me there." However, as she and her friends crossed the bridge and entered the opening in the cliff side where it led, she grew increasingly pensive. As she and her friends re-entered the stone heart of the mountain and descended ever downwards, she had to ask. "Moll, you said that Salno and Yetrigar had gone ahead to the chamber. Is Professor Hayashida there?"

Moll let her mind race forward to said chamber to see what was inside there. Let's see, there was Salno and Yetrigar as she expected. They were in a large stone chamber that was illuminated by a steaming glowing lake in the center. The lake was huge and could easily hold a kaiju. Surrounding the lake, Moll could see several watchikas moving electronic equipment and mystical talismans into proper position. She saw watchika priests and among them she saw Hayashida. "Yes Miki, the Professor is there."

"We'll be there soon right? From what I heard, the two of you will be needed for the transformation to work."

Belvera turned back to face Miki from the slow moving Fairy. "Don't worry kid. We're on the last leg of the journey; it won't be long now. Me and sis' are going to get there on time."

They crew of four—Miki, Kyle, Moll, and Belvera—kept their pace down into the rocky caverns. Ever deeper they went, ever farther. As they went, the stair grew increasingly broader and more watchikas came up and down on them. As this happened, it began to become hotter; in fact, Kyle began perspire.

"Tenzin said that the city was powered by geothermal energy," said Kyle. "It's the heat of it that we're feeling, right?"

"Observant little man," Belvera sighed. Though she no longer hated humans, she still found a number of them to be exasperating. Why did they always have to state the obvious? "Yes Kyle, it is heat from the geothermal power sources you feel. That also means that we have reached our destination."

"We have?" asked Kyle.

"Yes we have," answered Moll. "If you look down below you'll see the end of the our path and the light that ends it."

And so it was. A hundred feet away from them, the stone stairs finally did end. The two Elias sisters weren't bothered; they had Fairy to ride. But as for Kyle and Miki who had had to walk, this was a relief. On reaching the end of the stairs, the quartet came across a mammoth archway or perfectly carved stone. It looked ancient. Salno had told them that on offering the then Simeons asylum in Selginia thousands of years ago, that the royal family had carved the arch for them.

It was clearly a holy place and the four proceeded in hushed silence past the arch. It was here that the champions of the Watchika were born and, hopefully, there would be born a new champion today. Past the arch, it was not as Moll had seen in her astral projection. It was far greater.

The dome of the rock was over a three hundred feet high; at the top clouds were seen forming. Protruding from the clouds was a forest of stalactites just as the rough and rocky floor was ringed by stalagmites. The length of the cavern was such that the end of it could not be seen through the vapors that rose from burning incense. At the center was a huge lake of water as deep as it was wide; its red tinted water gave off a heady smell as it bubbled and churned. It was seemingly a lake of blood and that could easily be imagined with the chants of the priests that surrounded it. Although a row of computers and scientific devices were placed at an unobtrusive place, this was primarily a religious rite. Yes, for millennia had the Watchika made champions here in accordance to their faith and there would be born a champion there that day.

Pain. That was all he felt, a world of absolute and unending pain. The creature desperately moved through the pain and through the rubble that he was buried in. He needed air and he needed to think. He groggily shifted about and braced himself through the scrapes and the bruises in order to reach the surface from underneath the ground he was buried.

How long did he dig? A day? A week? A month? He did not know. What he did know was that when he finally came to the surface, he collapsed in exhaustion from his trial and his awakening. His breathing was labored but, wary of what might be awaiting him, he craned his mammoth head upwards. Thus, silhouetted by red fires against the night surrounded by smoke, did the winged serpent see the suffering around him. His name was Quetzalcoatl and he was one of the four sons of Manda. As such, he was the brother of Apophis and had been in his thrall for a long, long time.

It had begun millennia ago when Apophis rebelled against their father. Though the eldest and thus destined to one day be ruler, Apophis seemed filled with a lust for power. His worshippers deserted him, his priests abandoned him, and his family turned on him. Apophis was exiled and youngest brother's chief priest volunteered him as "probation officer."

While they were not the only ones, good Shen Long and wicked Jormungand left Mu in time as well, Apophis and Quetzalcoatl were the chief ones. Quetzalcoatl saw his wicked brother sentenced to live out the rest of his life among the barren desert wastes of northern Africa. The winged serpent, on the other hand, made a home for himself in the lush jungles of what humans now call Mexico. There, he encountered a sorry lot of humans who, on seeing him—a colossal monster of seemingly magical power—, came to worship him. This posed no psychological difficulty for the youngest son of Manda. He had been worshipped in his native Mu and thus had no problem accepting the prayers of these humans.

However, he knew that he had a responsibility to the humans and thus gave them a civilization; he raised them up from the barbaric existence that they had known. He spoke to them by means of human avatars. By them he taught the people that would one day be called the Aztecs math, science, farming, astronomy, and other things. He refused human sacrifice and would accept only flowers and song as tribute for he was a gentle beast that taught the humans mercy. He made not war but peace in his friendship with the ancestors of the Incas and their guardian, Tuol. Quetzalcoatl loved his people and would die to protect them.

However, such happy times were not to last for the day came that Quetzalcoatl learned that his brother was not in solitude as he had hoped. Instead, Apophis had built an empire on the backs, and minds, of human slaves. That could not be allowed to continue and thus the youngest son of Manda confronted the eldest in a battle of good vs. evil. Quetzalcoatl allied himself with the monsters and humans who resisted Apophis's tyranny and, at the cost of his freedom, defeated his vile brother.

That was the last thing the winged serpent remembered before darkness overcame him, that Apophis fell first. What had happened since then, Quetzalcoatl did not know. How much time had passed? One year? Ten? Fifty? A hundred? He overlooked the land and let him mind feel its pain. He could feel the pain of the rocks, fire, wind, and water. He felt it and knew fear.

Beyond fear, beyond darkness, beyond evil, it had come. The devil's hammer had come to smite all righteousness and make the world a living nightmare. Quetzalcoatl could sense it; the enemy of his family who had slain his great grandfather's children, who had killed his grandmother, who had menaced his father… and who had murdered his brother. The death of Apophis was so horrible that it was writ in the very soil itself and by his telepathy, Quetazalcoatl saw it. The Great Dragon knew that he and had his brother had fought time and again, but by the emperor of all draconians, Quetzalcoatl never wanted Apophis to die like that.

The son of Manda looked about. The ruins he had excavated himself from were those of Alexandria. Though he knew it not, that was where his sleeping form had been taken when Mubarak found Apophis. All Quetzalcoatl knew was that King Ghidorah had come and that, no matter how impossible, no matter what the cost, the space demon had to be stopped. Yet as the winged serpent stretched his senses, he could feel energy left by a tremendous monster, a King of Monsters. Quetzalcoatl realized that this stranger was also a son of the Great Dragon, or the Great Tyrannosaur as the stranger would call the Great One for this King of Monsters was of the saurian race, not the draconian. The son of Manda also sensed that the saurian had passed by the city mere moments ago and had headed south.

South was where King Ghidorah's stench led and it was south that Quetzalcoatl would go. Perhaps the son of Manda could ally with this King of Monsters and strike alongside him at the dreaded Bane of Life. True, it had taken seven monsters to defeat the demon before, but the battle would have to be fought, regardless of personal cost. With that Quetzalcoatl shook his feathered serpent head, twisted his coils, and let his wings carry him into the air towards his enemy, towards King Ghidorah.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Six

From a position high above the operating floor, a man could see the medical crew tending Frankenstein. It was a huge room, the size of several aircraft hangers. Computer banks that monitored the monster's vital sign were in constant operation and surrounded their charge. The creature himself was in the center of the room on a raised platform often used in holding ships or aircraft. Tubes the size of fire-hoses were inserted all through Frankenstein's veins to insure the giant a deep sleep while the surgeons performed their life giving operation.

Life was needed considering the condition that the monster was in. Third degree burns were suffered across the whole of the body, nearly every bone in his body was broken, half an arm was missing and so was a foot. Frankenstein's rapid healing could only delay the inevitable. It could not save him as before because these wounds were too many and too great. The doctors were uncertain if even their additional expertise would be enough.

As for the medical doctors themselves, they were like liliputians crawling about a freakish Gulliver as they swarmed about the monster's gigantic frame in order to save him. The only comparable situation had been shortly after Kong had fallen from the Empire State Building and the US government had tried to save him. (It was ironic considering that it had tried to kill him days earlier.) But that had been over sixty years ago and the ape had not had not been brought to death's door by ultimate evil.

Those were Dr. Bowen's thoughts as he turned away from the sight. He returned his vision to the empty conference room he was in and what had happened. A protector to the very end, Frankenstein had made a last stand against the Prince of Skyllans for the sake of the humans evacuating G-Force Europe's primary base. King Ghidorah had almost killed the undead creation and would have succeeded if not for the dedicated medical staff. Now, he was hanging to life by the faintest thread and could die at any moment, but that wouldn't happen if Dr. Bowen's staff had anything to say about it.

James Bowen had been the world's chief Frankenstein researcher for many years. He had learned all he could from Dr. Reisendorf, the man who had sent the heart of the original monster out of Germany in World War II, and from what few reliable records were left concerning the original Doctor Frankenstein. Bowen had sought to do this because of the friendship both he and his human colleagues he had cultivated with the giant Frankenstein monster. They had been there when the creature first made itself known in Japan and when the creature found a home in the forests of Germany. Now Bowen was an old man and had ceded much of his responsibilities to the kaijuologists that he had taught.

Yet with his old charge's life in danger, he wanted to be personally involved. Interesting, although Frankenstein was a kaiju, he was human enough to require both human physicians and kaijuologists to tend his wounds. They had with them a secret weapon: Red Bamboo growth serum. It had been confiscated by the DFE after the Letchi Island incident and had then been in the possession of UNGCC kaijuolgists since the organization's founding. The serum could cause mutations resulting in giant growth as seen in the ookundrus and the Ebirahs and with the strength it could give Frankenstein, it might give the giant an edge. Not only was the radioactive growth serum being administered intravenously, but so was a concentrated supply of animal protein which Frankenstein's metabolism required

Frankenstein. That would soon change. Along with the kaijuologists, there were there were various men and woman from G-Force Alpha's R&D. Among them was their chief, Dr. Yoshizawa who was determined to give the giant a cybernetic advantage. Dr. Bowen didn't like it, but the world needed everything it could against King Ghidorah and if Frankenstein couldn't win, then perhaps Mechenstein could.

"And so that's what's going to happen."

Ramon looked anxiously at Lora. He glanced down at his feet before looking back up. "The monster is coming and the fight will be…?"

"Within the hour," finished Lora. "But it won't be against King Ghidorah. Godzilla is coming and he will be the one for us to fight. Or Tuol."

"Good." Ramon looked over his shoulder at the Kenyan savanna and at Mt. Kilimanjaro. "I've heard about Godzilla and it's about time we fight him; he's no different than King Ghidorah."

Lora shifted uncomfortably atop her seat on Fairy and cast a worried look at the boy. "I wouldn't be so sure about that young one. Godzilla and King Ghidorah might look like they 're on the same side, but they 're not the same. If those foolish humans would just listen and know that Godzilla might be their ally instead of their enemy!"

Ramon grinned at that. "Be careful Lora or you might wind up like your sister!"

A fearful grin spread across Lora's face. "Me? Like Belvera?" A sour look came across the youngest Elias' face. She was about to make a retort when she saw that the sky was growing increasingly dark. She didn't know what to make of it; she could tell that the black clouds and the darkening skies weren't natural but beyond that she wasn't sure. Could it have something to do with the earthquake that shook the earth but a hours earlier?

Worried, Ramon asked, "Lora, are you OK?"

With that, the fairy snapped to attention and nodded. Yet that was when she sensed something, some new monster. Was it friend it foe? She looked at Ramon. "Please, get to shelter immediately. Something is coming."

"Is it Godzilla?"

The tiny priestess shook her head slowly. "No, I've seen his mind many times and that which is coming is not he. I must go see what it is. Until then go to safety and tell the men what I have told you."

The two parted ways and went to do what had to be done. However Ramon for some unknown reason knew that he shouldn't be afraid. He somehow knew that what was coming was a friend. He knew it not, but it was because of the blood shared between him and Tuol. The stone giant had sensed the coming thing from a distance and felt no fear. In fact, if the ugly stone Incan idol could smile, it would have done so. From a distance, it seemed like a speck in the sky but, on closer examination of his stone eyes, it was seen to be something else entirely. It was long and twisted; it coiled sinuously in the air.

It was a beautiful sight unseen by the eyes of men in three millennia; it was the winged serpent. His body and face were those of the serpent lord of Mu, yet in some ways utterly different. Did Manda 's scales glisten like fresh spring waters? Did they shine more sweetly than any jewel? Did Manda have fine feathers that were red and blue and yellow and purple? Was Manda painted with the colors or have the scent of all the flowers of the rain forest? Did Manda have feathered wings? No.

As if he were the largest rain forest bird in the world, the winged serpent streaked towards the ground. It seemed to be headed to the side of the stone giant and it indeed flew in a circular pattern around the giant for a brief time. With that the new monster flew slower & slower in the circle & lower and lower towards the ground. He circled slower and slower until he stopped and was on the savanna 's grasses. His short legs propped up his serpentine body and he reared back his feathered head towards Tuol.

From a distance, both Ramon and Lora saw this. The boy knew nothing except that the new monster could be trusted; this was partly from what he felt and from how the two giants looked at each other. The Elias knew this because she heard their very thoughts. She smiled and turned back in her seat above Fairy as she flew towards the command station. She knew that the men of G-Force would be most pleased at what was happening; a new ally had come to aid in the Monster Wars. As for Tuol himself, he now knew that nothing was impossible because after all those centuries it was his old friend, Quetzalcoatl.

Meanwhile, back in the Watchikas' underground city, the birth of a champion was underway. In the cavern, Kyle was hunched over a computer screen and was typing away. Hayashida was glad that Kyle had relieved him of that duty; he had been getting tired. Correction, he had been tired for hours as he reviewed data stream after data stream. This bizarre atmosphere didn't help, but Miki's smile certainly did.

"Professor," she asked, "are you alright? Is there anything I can get you?"

"No Miki. I'm fine. Did the trip go well for you and Kyle?"

"Yes it did. But Professor, now that we're here, what will happen? What will happen to Tenzin?"

"It's a strange fate to befall a politician but a noble one considering that he's accepting it for his people. For thousands of years, the Watchika have lived in these mountains and have explored all the secrets held herein. Over the course of centuries they uncovered this chamber and the effects that the water here has. It is similar to the red healing water found on Sollgel Island. Nobody knows how it began but it has become a holy rite for one to be chosen. The finest yeti is chosen from those he would try and he is bought here. The priests with their 'magic' watch as he goes into the red water and it makes him a giant.

"However, I have been working for months on a way for science to accelerate the rate of change caused by the water so that Yetrigar can fight King Ghidorah that much sooner. I have found a way for the transformation to occur in weeks instead of years. It is not without its risks, though. Yetrigar has been told his chances of surviving and the constant pain he will be I even if does but he's determined to go ahead anyway. But with all the energy that will be used here means that no yeti heroes will be born here for centuries, if ever again. However, the watchikas say they'll do it anyway."

Miki Seguesa nodded at Hayashida's words and looked past the computer banks at the yetis standing together some space away. There were the robed Watchika priests gripping their staffs and offering Tenzin Yetrigar what spiritual solace they could. The yeti's family was there to bid their simian son a teary eyed final farewell. That was because once he would be made… a monster, there would be no return. He would be as good as dead. They had gone through a ritualized form of mourning meant for those whose children would leave to become monsters.

The chief priest looked away from his fellow yetis and a ways away towards Hayashida who nodded that conditions were optimal. The Priest then walked turned towards Tenzin Yetrigar and placed his hand on his shoulder. "It is time."

Yetrigar nodded his ape like head and began walking towards the red pool. He began thinking that after all his efforts to make a life for himself, after all his trials to become a name for himself, he would throw it all away. The yeti waded into the red pool. He felt the water soak through his fur and knew that it would all be worth it if he could help save the world. By now, he was swimming towards the center and knew he was ready. He reached the center and called out the very last words he would ever speak. "Do it."

The Watchika priests lifted their staffs and began to chant their hymns. It was slow and soft at first. Bit by bit, however it grew in intensity. The chants grew louder and louder and light shot out from their staffs. A wind began to blow through the cavern and it stirred the red pool into a churning froth. Gritting his teeth through the scalding pain, Yetrigar thrust his ape head from the now boiling water and gasped for air. With the cavern illuminated by the staffs of the watchika priests, the yeti holy men surrounding the pool pointed their staffs at the center where Yetrigar was and blasted it with mystical energy.

On seeing that, the two eldest Elias sisters turned from their seat on Garu-Garu towards the humans. They nodded and were ready for their part. Hayashida knew that that was his signal and activated the machines via his computer station. It was increasingly difficult to work with the chaos all about him, but he stood ready. Both he and Kyle, masters of monstrous knowledge, were at their computers. The machines shot tendrils of electricity through the red pool and across the cavern was finally heard the scream of the yeti, Tenzin Yetrigar.

Both magic and science were at work there but for such polar opposites to be melded into one function was nearly impossible. Nearly, but not absolutely. In the time before history began, magic and science were equals and they served the Ancients well in their struggle against King Ghidorah. Both had served to defeat that spawn of the damned and would do so again, God willing. For that, only the eldest daughters of the Dragon Queen could meld the two and they were ready.

The cavern seemed to grow silent around them as they ignored all things to sing the song of the Sacred Springs by the music of the spheres. The two sisters closed their eyes and, atop Garu-Garu, readied their magicks.

Na intidihan… mo ba…

They placed their hands together and moved in perfect synchronization and as their sweet melody filled the room, Yetrigar's pain went all away.

Mairoun doan maganda baron

Each sister, called on the Prehistoric Mothra, moth of their mother and mother to their own moths. First one...

Punta ka lang dito

then the other.

Harika at marupo

They shone like the sun and the moon and sang their song to bind magic and science to so that combined they might give life. It was for this that they sang their song of love.

Na intidihan mo ba

Mairou doan maganda baron

Punta ka lang dito

Harija at marupo

Harik at marupo

rururururu

The sacred song continued and a feeling of overwhelming love filled all that heard it and that love was translated into their hero.

Before the stone form of Tuol and the winged serpent that was Quetzalcoatl, Lora was standing atop Fairy. She had sensed what had happened far away and was glad. She smiled but that smile began to fade on knowing what was happening. She knew that Godzilla was coming and readied for it. All others, especially the monsters, were prepared for battle. Lora had persuaded Commander Aso to stand aside and let the monsters fight. Godzilla was believed by them to be just as dangerous as King Ghidorah and the humans weren't willing to let a loose cannon go running about. Aso had fewer reservations against this than with the King Ghidorah's battle with Apophis because there was no risk of civilian casualties or destruction of property. Now Tuol and Quetzalcoatl waited.

Then the two giants felt it. The ground beneath them trembled. The stone head of one and the scaled head of the other turned and saw it. It was Godzilla and he was in no mood to be detained. He looked at one and then at the other and roared his defiance at them across the savanna.

Tuol saw this and lurched his stone body forward towards the King of the Monsters. Tuol's enemy had caused much suffering to many humans. Once he was defeated, all Earth's strength could be used to destroy King Ghidorah. The saurian roared his fury against winged serpent and the stone giant; he would not be denied! Tuol crashed his rocky fists together in anger as Godzilla braced his mighty frame for battle. That was when Quetzalcoatl sensed that Tuol's enemy was the King of the Monsters he had sensed in Alexandria days before. The winged serpent hissed this to Tuol; that Godzilla was not their enemy, they should join with him. It was too late; Tuol had no interest in his friend's philosophizing. The statue would deal with the problem the only way he knew how: smashing it!

The stone giant smashed his rocky fists against Godzilla's chest and the dinosaur reeled at the blow. He counterattacked with a claw slash but he pulled back his hand in pain as claws broke on the granite surface. A stone uppercut sent Godzilla falling down but a Blue Ray blasted the same fist apart. Tuol crashed the other fist into his fallen foe's face even as he absorbed stone from the soil to reform his lost limb. With both fists reformed, Tuol savagely beat them against the prostate Godzilla, despite Quetzalcoatl's pleas to stop. As for the King of the Monsters, he writhed underneath his stone foe's body and was forced to look at the idol's ugly leering face, his ugly mocking face! Godzilla fired an Atomic Ray point blank at his foe's head to obliterate it; it sent Tuol flying back. Godzilla got up; let's see Tuol smile now!

A hideous wail came from the stone giant's maw and he clasped his hands over the molten slag of his face. Drunk with pain, the stone giant staggered and fell backwards. On seeing his friend wounded, Quetzalcoatl was at first frozen with shock and grief. Yet when he looked at Tuol's enemy, now his enemy, he was enraged. If there would be war, the peacemaker thought, then so be it!

Godzilla had already begun to walk away when he was attacked from behind. He roared and thrashed as he felt himself being choked. Who dared defy him so! Quetzalcoatl dared and proved it by stabbing his poisonous fangs into his foe's throat straight to the gums. Godzilla arched his back in pain and thrashed about as toxins, stronger even than those of his brother Apophis, made its way through his body. Yet that was not the end for Quetzalcoatl raked his claws across his foe's body and each gash drew saurian blood. Infuriated, Godzilla reached from behind his neck and threw the winged serpent forward in order to blast him. Yet that was not so because the son of Manda was a flying creature as agile in the air as his father was in the water. Quezalcoatl dodged every beam shot fired on him as he streaked through the sky and seemingly dared Godzilla for more.

Godzilla was already growing dizzy from his foe's toxin. It was a gruesome cocktail of poisons that would have already killed a lesser creature but the King if Monsters would not yield. He ran towards his flying foe to meet him head on; the unyielding rock of his iron will would not break. But neither would Quetzalcoatl for he surged forward to attack and attack he did. Strangle holds, poison bites, raking claws, all were used against his foe. Already dazed from the assault, Godzilla was unprepared when Tuol, recovered from his wounds, surged forward to attack. With Quetzalcoatl choking him from in front, the stone giant beat his mammoth fists of rock against their foe's back as if determined to break him in two.

Godzilla tried to fire his beam but that was when Tuol wrapped in arm about his neck in headlock to keep that from happening. The idol's other arm had begun smashing its fist into the King of the Monster's head. Pain lashed about Godzilla and he felt his bleeding eyes swell shut. The winged serpent, with coils pinning his foe's arms to his sides and drooling blood, began piercing his fangs into his foe's chest, between the ribs. It was as if he wanted to poison the very heart.

Godzilla thrashed and raged at this and the red rage burned inside him until it finally exploded outwards in an Atomic Shockwave. Both Tuol and Quetzalcoatl were thrown back and injured by the blast of blue-white energy. Groggy and sick from the radiation they both looked upwards and saw that though injured Godzilla was also fighting mad. Immune to harm, Tuol got up and resumed the assault; however, the tide had turned in Godzilla's favor.

The stone giant lurched towards his foe but the saurian knelt and did a tail sweep that tripped the idol. Remembering that he'd melted Tuol's face earlier, Godzilla loosed his Atomic Ray in a wide spray all over his foe's body, superheating every square inch and seemingly fusing the joints. With that, he tore of a limb from the idol's stone body and used it like a club to pulverize Tuol, into rubble. On seeing his friend in pain, Quetzalcoatl thrust himself into the air to help. Yet Godzilla knew this and even as he let the limb drop from one hand, he reached out with the other to grab the winged serpent as it happened. Too late to dodge, the son of Manda felt his tail grabbed by the saurian's hands and felt himself snapped through the air like a whip. That was not enough and Godzilla grabbing Quetzalcoatl's tail by both hands brought him smashing against Tuol's burning stony frame like an overseer scourging a slave.

When it was done, Godzilla cast the son of Manda aside like so much rubbish and left the battlefield. Burned and bruised and broken, Quetzalcoatl could not move; he knew he was lucky to be alive. As for Tuol, he tried to move but with his joints fused into slag it was no use. He struggled still more and more until his remaining limbs snapped making him look like a quadruple amputee. How long would it take for him to heal, he did not now but it would not be soon enough. For now, all he and Quetzalcoatl could do was watch their foe walk away.

As for Quetzalcoatl, he felt a tremendous anger, not at the beast that had done this to him but at himself for not having been able to prevent the senseless violence. The son of Manda knew that Godzilla was enemy to King Ghidorah just as he was. He should; though a wrymling when King Ghidorah attacked the Ancients, Quetzalcoatl remembered how the Elias had used their magic to show his father, Manda, and himself that Godzilla had been the only one of the saurian champions to fight 'till the end 65,000,000 years ago. If only there had been some way to make Godzilla see that both he and Quetzalcoatl were children of the Great Dragon, one his great grandson and the other his champion, and that they shared a common mission against the enemy of his children. Those were the only thoughts that went through Quetzalcoatl's throbbing head and even those were drowned out by pain. He let his swollen eyes close shut and let himself breathe labored breaths.

As for Godzilla, he too was in pain. He was bruised, poisoned, lacerated, and with who knows how many broken bones from Tuol's fists. By nightfall, he was already many miles away from the battle scene and the prostate forms therein. Yet, as he hobbled southwards through Africa on the trail of King Ghidorah, he thought of the two that had opposed him. Godzilla could sense that the serpent had sought to help him, that it had meant him no harm and was even of the blood of the Great Tyrannosaur.

Yet both the snake and the stone creature had attacked him first, what could Godzilla have done except defend himself? Yet when he thought of the brutality of his attack, he remembered what he had seen of the human city destroyed by King Ghidorah. But whatever Godzilla did, it was nothing compared to the chaos the space demon wrought, both on Godzilla's world and his family. That he would have to destroy that which stood between him and his final battle against the Price of Skyllans was regrettable, but he had no choice. King Ghidorah had to die, as would all those who stood between him and Godzilla.

Commander Aso had been there to witness the entire battle. He has seen it from Tuol's first blow to Godzilla final departure as he had promised Commander Ahmed. Aso had hoped that Tuol would be able to defeat Godzilla. God knew that G-Force had enough to deal with in King Ghidorah without having to deal with Godzilla at the same time. Time and again, through all this, Miki had asked him why not ally with Godzilla against King Ghidorah? This was why. Miki's "friend" was no better than the freaks he fought but she was too blind to see that.

Not Aso. He did not fight for hate as so many thought; rather it was for love of those that Godzilla would harm that he fought as fiercely as he did. When the battle was done and night fell, Aso walked past the burnt grass and savaged, upturned earth of the battlefield. Aso knew that it would be long time before the land recovered, perhaps as long as it would for those valiant guardians that fell in the defense of it. They had fought for the inhabitants of the world, human and monster alike and it was unsure if they would live to tell the tale.

Alone beneath the starry African sky, Aso walked between the bleeding injured forms of Tuol and Quetzalcoatl. He was dwarfed by their enormous size but he did not escape their attention. Bathed in the moonlight, the son of Manda looked though blackened swollen eyes on the human who had come to comfort him. Though caked with blood and welts burning their pain across his ravaged form, Quetzalcoatl let his telepathy tell him that the human felt pity for him and gratitude for what he had done. Indeed, the human had sent word to Mu that the finest doctors be sent. Though in agony, the son of Manda took comfort that the humans he guarded were truly worth saving.

Aso took one last look at Quetzalcoatl and the rubble that was Tuol before hanging his head. Miki felt pity for Godzilla. Aso felt pity for his victims.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Seven

Time passed and though the battles of the Africa Campaign were the some of the fiercest of the Monster Wars, they were hardly the last. The nations of Earth, along with the Watchika civilization and Mu, were determined to do all they could for the cause. Mu especially did what it could, however limited that might be. As Mu had lost all need to defend itself as a result of thousands of years of isolation it thus only had a token navy for defense against sea monsters. (The military build up during the 1963 campaign against the surface world had been one big exception they said.)

Because of this, when Mu issued a joint declaration of war with the UN—with whom it held observer status—against King Ghidorah, Mu had had to fulfill its pledge by non-combat means. This included military advisors, supplying food and some weapons, and—this was regarded as a Godsend by many—doctors. It was worth saying that Muvian medicine was far in advance in that of all surface world nations, not to mention how Muvians often had strange powers that could be applied to healing. So despite all the lives that King Ghidorah took, many more would have been lost if not for the Muvians coming like angels of mercy and no where was this more appreciated in the Basilica of Guadalupe, in Mexico City.

Santos, along with Director Goodhue, walked in silence and gravely assessed the devastation. Mexico City had been left in ruins by King Ghidorah's attack and the only building left was the Basilica. The people, desperate for some faith, some hope, to cling to, chose to believe that it was by God's grace that this holy shrine was spared. Perhaps it was so; Secretary General Miguel Santos of the United Nations certainly believed it. The only roof left, the Basilica had been made a make shift hospital by desperate Muvian medical workers where the wounded were nurtured or, as was more common, helped to die painlessly.

Even so, Santos saw that it still was not enough. But he did remember that during Godzilla's attack on Tokyo more than half a year ago, Miki Seguesa had seen a similar sight. It wasn't a quarter of what Santos was seeing here. Santos saw a man covered in bandages like Lazarus, though in his case it was in the opposite direction he was going. The doctor knew there was nothing she could to save him so she'd left him drunk. At least he'd feel no pain. He kept walking and saw to his left an old man wrapped in rags watching a television. The TV was turned away from Santos and so he couldn't see what was on. Nothing was on; with television stations destroyed, there was nothing for the old man to watch except a small fire burning past a broken screen. Santos turned to his right and heard a girl cheerfully telling her father that she'd found food. She was holding a rat that she had found from outside and handed it to her mother who reluctantly began skinning it for lunch.

Everywhere Miguel Santos turned, he saw more death, more pain, more suffering. For reasons science could not explain, however, King Ghidorah's Taint left the people in no greater suffering that if it hadn't been the Price of Skyllans that had wrought the carnage, thus leading some to believe that there really was some holy aura of protection around the sanctuary. Even so, screams and moans pierced the air and everywhere was seen why. It was a "helpless mass of human wreckage" if there ever had been one. He saw men without arms, men without legs, men blind and needing to be guided by their hands as if they were children. The survivors of ruined Mexico City were strewn about on the floor; cots had long since run out. Though he had given his mind to the world in serving the UN, Santos' heart belonged to Mexico. It belonged here and it broke on sight of the sufferings of his people.

That was when heard a dirty ragged girl on the stone floor. She was crying and said, "Mommy, tengo frio." Mommy I'm cold.

Santos shook his head on seeing the girl; ever since King Ghidorah had wrought nuclear disaster in Egypt, the fall out had made world temperatures drop drastically and caused chaotic weather patterns. Skies were left darkened as far as Tajikstan and ashes rained 'round the globe. (That was in addition to the global lack of sunlight causing a drop in food production and leaving all the Middle East and north Africa disaster areas.)

Sad for the girl, he walked towards her and took off his coat. He gave it to her, smiling, and gently said, "No te preoccupies chica. Tome me abrigo. Te calientara." Don't worry, little girl. Take my coat. It will warm you.

She got up on her feet and wrapped herself up in it. She hugged him in gratitude and said, "Gracias."

Now coatless, Santos walked for a bit more past the dead and dying before leaning on a stone pillar where he began shaking. He looked up to the image of Mary, Our Lady of Guadalupe. The bishop had asked that it remain in the Basilica to give badly needed hope to those survivors still there. That was certainly the case for Santos as he crossed himself.

Director Goodhue walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, sir?"

Santos turned to him. "What? Oh, yes, I suppose I am. It's hard enough to have the entire world on your shoulders as Secretary General. Harder when your country's capital has been reduced to this. I don't know how much help, if any, I'll be able to get for these people when everything we have is being sent against King Ghidorah."

"Don't blame yourself, sir," Goodhue said reassuringly. There's only so much you can do."

Santos turned away. "But I could still do more if Mexico's president hadn't made me promise not to play favorites."

"Is that in writing, sir?"

Santos allowed himself a slight smile. "No, just a handshake on the street." The smile quickly faded. "Strange how things can happen. Goodhue, you see we're in this Basilica to the Virgin, whose name is synonymous with love and mercy, yes?" He saw Goodhue nod. "Some historians say that her name 'Guadalupe' comes from the Aztec word 'quatlasupe.' In Aztec it means 'she who crushes the serpent' and in Christianity, the serpent is synonymous with evil. If you look closely at Virgin Mary statues in old Catholic churches, you'll see her crushing a snake underfoot."

Startled at the coincidence, Goodhue looked at the various Muvian doctors tending the wounded, right and left. He thought how the snake was a symbol of healing in many cultures and even American doctors had the caduceus symbol of the serpent. Goodhue smirked. "If them snake worshippers only knew…"

Santos looked at them as they saved lives with every movement with their millennia old medicine and strange powers. "They would understand. Even if they didn't, they'd forgive for how you and Aso got medics to Quetzalcoatl as fast as you did. The two of you saved the life of Manda's son and the people of Mu are grateful for it."

Goodhue nodded but then his brow knitted. "Wait… isn't Quetzal-whatever Aztec or Mexican too?"

Santos smiled. "Yes, Quetzalcoatl, the son of Manda, was worshipped by the Aztec ancestors of the Mexican people in the days before the Spanish conquest. Funny how these things happen." Then his face turned grim. "But by the will of God the only serpent that'll be crushed is the true serpent, a beast of ultimate evil that was cast out from the heavens and damned, the demon that wears the crowns of a king on each of his heads. Por los clavos de Cristo vamos a destruir ese demonio… Ghidorah will be crushed Goodhue. He has to be."

Though a church going man, Goodhue couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Sir you're not saying that…"

"…That King Ghidorah really is the devil? Maybe, maybe not but Salno said that his name means 'Satan's Hammer,' didn't she? Ask anyone here and they'll tell you that King Ghidorah is the devil incarnate come to usher in the end of the world."

Speaking of the devil, both Goodhue and Santos heard a sudden outcry that arose at something despised the world over, something or someone. The people were shouting and cursing at someone coming through one of the seven gates. The infirm turned in their cots and those on crutches waved their fists in anger at the one they saw. Santos and Goodhue saw who it was. It was the most despised, most hated, most distrusted man in the world, the man who had freed King Ghidorah: President Devlin Emmerich.

Santos angrily strode towards him and his vice president amidst Spanish cries of "monster," "you loosed the demon on us," and "may you burn in hell" but when the two came together all went silent. Or it would have been silent except for the loud and bitter words exchanged between them.

"What are you doing here? It better be good or I'm throwing you out!"

"Spare me the histrionics," said the President. Having heard that an earthquake destroyed his old company's headquarters, he was in no mood to be patient. "I've been looking for you and told you were here. I was hoping to be able to help. After all, Mexico is America's neighbor."

Scowling at what he took as a personal remark, Santos said, "You've already helped enough. If you want to talk take it outside of here. This is holy ground and I won't have your filth desecrate it."

The president's eyes narrowed. "We're going to talk now."

"About what?"

"Look at all this. The people injured and dying, all of it caused by King Ghidorah."

Santos crossed his arms. "I know all that. What's your point?"

"My point is that we have to fight with every last weapon we have and vaporize that monster. That's what you don't know because if you did then you wouldn't have banned using the Black Hole Gun. It might be our only chance of killing that thing."

Santos shook his head. "Clavos de Cristo… You really are stupid! Do you have any idea what you're talking about! A Black Hole is the most destructive force in Creation and I have no idea where those science geeks got the idea of trying to control it. It's more dangerous the global stockpile of nuclear weapons put together and if we use it might even wind up destroying the world."

"Yes that might happen or we might be able to kill that thing in one shot. You're already thinking about aren't you? If you weren't then you wouldn't have authorized its construction. Once its complete and on the Gryphon, we'll have the arsenal and the technology to do the job. All it needs is your word. Will you give it?"

"Yes," said Santos. "I did authorize building that damn thing but if I do use it, its going to a weapon of last resort and nothing else. We have no way of knowing if this mad scheme would work and even if it does, we might well do King Ghidorah's work for him. Earth might be in danger, but I'm in no mood to see my planet commit suicide yet."

The President stared at him for a minute before breaking the silence. "Alright Santos. Alright, if that's how you're going to play it, fine. If you won't use your ultimate weapon, then I'll use mine. Remember, the 1987 resolution may have outlawed the usage of nuclear weapons without Security Council authorization but the UN resolution allows China, Russia, Great Britain, France, AND the United States to use nuclear weapons if they suffer direct territorial invasion. That three headed monster hasn't made landfall in America yet, but if it does, you better believe that I'll kill him dead!"

"Santos was wrong. You're more than stupid, you're insane." Both the US President and Secretary General Santos turned to Kyle Martin who said that. Up till now, he had silently been helping to tend the wounded alongside Miki. Kyle had always been the voice to be heard in all things concerning monsters. But since the Monster Wars began, he, like his grandfather, had hurled every drop of venom he could muster at President Emmerich so that all the world could hear. He had heard the dialogue between the two men but had stayed quiet until the last remark at which he could stay silent no longer.

"Its no wonder that an assassin tried to kill you for freeing King Ghidorah. Do you have any idea what you're saying you maniac? We've all kept from using nuclear weapons by a hairsbreadth. If you fire nuclear missiles then so will everyone and that would mean the end of life as we know it."

All this time, the President had been listening been standing in shock but when he found his voice he said, "How dare you? As a citizen of the United States do you have any idea what I could do to you for saying that?"

Detached, Kyle Martin just folded his arms. "Remarks like yours remind me of what my grandfather says; that kaiju aren't the monsters. It's blind and shortsighted men like you that are the monsters."

"You shut up!"

"Really?" Kyle Martin merely raised an eyebrow. "I'm not the one that freed King Ghidorah so he could go and kill the world. You knew he was there. We told you from the start. The protesters reasoned with you; you ignored them. Both the Elias and Princess Salno went to warn you; you wouldn't listen. Mothra tried to stop it; you almost destroyed her.

"You personally gave the order to open the sphere even after everything that you'd been told, after everything that happened. You freed that monster and only God Himself knows if we're going to be able to lock him back up. Sure, me and the rest of G-Force are planning Steel Reign II but who's to say that it will be any more effective than what has gone before? Look around you! Look at all these poor people. It's happening over the entire world and because you in your idiocy, refused to listen, their blood be on your head."

Formerly in the background for the duration of this, Vice President Franklin Smith moved in to defend his boss. "Mr. Martin, please be reasonable. These are dark times and we are all stressed by what's been happening. But such bickering will get us nowhere; if anything it will help King Ghidorah destroy us. Even I have to admit that my boss should have paid more attention but the odds of him having had irrefutable proof against opening the sphere are the odds of there being an alien infested Area 51."

Smith began walking with Martin, and talking with him. As they did, the President heard Martin reluctantly agree that grudges would be settled after the Monster Wars. However, the leader of the United States was growing increasingly nervous, he had been on edge ever since Elias said "King Ghidorah" when they went to talk to him about the meteor. He'd told himself that it had to be a coincidence and when he saw the monster for himself, he could only say that the knowledge he had could really do no good. But ever since the dawn of the Monster Wars, he had kept asking himself if he should speak up. Now he decided that he should.

"Wait." Kyle, Santos, Goodhue, and Smith all turned towards him. "My Vice President said that there is no 'alien infested Area 51.' That's… not entirely accurate."

"What?" asked Goodhue. "You don't mean to say that the stories about alien bodies are true?"

"Stories?" Santos' brows knitted together. "How much of its true?"

Apparently all of it. Soon enough, Santos, Goodhue, Martin, Seguesa, and the President were on their way to the place in question. After having flown over gravel strewn washes, creosote bushes, sand, yucca, and Joshua trees for what seemed like ages, they arrived by plane easily enough at Groom Lake. After all, the infamous Dreamland base doubled as an airplane testing facility. Secretary General Santos was the first off the plane and was soon followed by his cohorts. He turned to the President and yelled over the roar of the plane engines. "This is the place?"

Shielding himself from the burning Nevada sun, the man nodded. They turned and saw a jeep coming to welcome them. A distinguished looking, white haired military officer got off to greet them. By then, the jet engines had died down enough for them to speak normally. "Good day Mr. President, Mr. Secretary, Director Goodhue, Mr. Martin and Miss Seguesa. I am General Spielburg and I'm responsible for this base."

The man then looked to Secretary General Santos and saluted. "Sir, I would like to welcome you personally to Area 51 and say that… that it is truly an honor to meet you."

Santos smiled and shook the General's hand. "Thank you."

On regaining his composure, the old soldier cleared his throat and said, "Well sir, I've also been told why you're here and I've decided to personally give you and your friends the grand tour. Please follow me and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask."

They all began following General Spielburg towards a jeep and Goodhue said, "I have a question. Darn it, how you been all these years Jim!"

"Jim" threw his head back and laughed. "I've been working here ever since I dropped out of sight. As you can imagine… they don't let us out much!"

Goodhue grinned. "I can guess."

Miki was puzzled on seeing this and on seeing the Director of UNGCC on such chummy terms she could only ask, "You two know each other?"

Goodhue nodded. "Yes, we do Miki. Jim and myself knew each other back in World War II. We tried to take Lagos with Kong's help but it didn't pan out."

"The two of you were at Lagos?" she asked.

The General in charge of Area 51 nodded. "Yes, we were both part of the American landing forces and we were determined to take the island." Then he grinned. "But with Godzillasaurus there, it didn't quite go exactly as planned! Why do you ask Miss, Segeusa is it? I've heard of you and I don't think that the one of the UNGCC's most important operatives could not know that her project director was the man who commanded that battle."

She smiled. "I just wanted to be sure, sir. Y'see, my grandfather, Private Akira Segeusa was one of the Japanese soldiers stationed there." She reached into her wallet and pulled out the yellowed original photo that Major Shindo took of Godzillasaurus all those decades ago. Goodhue and General Spielburg looked at the picture and whistled. Miki smiled. "My grandfather was from Odo Island and fought in the Lagos Garrison under Major Shindo; it was my grandfather that named Godzillasaurus Gojira after the legend. I was a little girl when he told me the story of Lagos Island and gave me this picture. I've kept it ever since."

"Well I guess it's a small world after all." With that, the General stopped. "Your grandfather isn't still sore about it, is he? I mean we…"

"Tried to kill him?" Miki shook her head. "No, sir. He long ago forgave you your trespasses against him as he hopes you forgave his trespasses against you. He told me that before he died."

The General looked remorsefully at Miki. "Sorry miss."

Miki smiled. "Its OK, sir."

The General nodded, then went back towards his seat in the jeep and said "C'mon everyone."

They all got into the jeep and drove along the airstrip to a large hanger. After passing out much welcomed bottles of water, the General turned to Santos and began talking. "Well sir, I'm assuming you know the basics. Area 51 as you can see is very real and so are the stories about it. For years supposedly 'intelligent' people dismissed its existence entirely; when irrefutable proof that it did exist surfaced it was said to be just a testing area for top-secret planes such as the U-2 and the SR71 thus explaining the strange sightings and secrecy.

"That is what we wanted everyone to believe."

The jeep stopped and they all got off inside a large hanger where newly designed conventional aircraft were stored. As they all began walking through the hanger, the General gestured to the planes. "As you can see, the tale of testing planes isn't a complete lie; it's really a cover story. In fact; many of the people who work topside here are told and believe that it really is just an air craft testing facility while they simultaneously disregard the story of Roswell as pure nonsense. The truth is right beneath their feet, its thrust into their faces and they don't even know it! That's why psychics like Miss Seguesa here never suspected more than what was let on. A psychic probe wouldn't learn the truth; rather what the misled here thought was true.

"This was mostly Harry Truman's idea; the Roswell incident happened during his presidency. His idea came from his experience with the Manhattan Project. He'd known about it even before Roosevelt had died but had thought that it was just some made up stuff. With the Cold War looming, Truman decided that Roswell would have to be kept secret regardless of how he knew that it couldn't be kept secret forever. He knew leaks were bound to develop so he came up with the idea of intentionally releasing misinformation through credible sources and correct information through crackpots. It doesn't matter if you can't keep a secret, reasoned Truman, if nobody believes the truth.

"My friend here, Director Goodhue, for example, knew for years that I had been in charge of Area 51. But he only knew the 'official truth' and merely thought that I was overseeing experimental planes. And I do that on the side when my more important responsibilities aren't pending. Goodhue, here, was always pulling jokes on me that I was in charge of flying saucers never thinking that I really AM in charge of flying saucers."

The General looked to his old friend. "Sorry I never told you Goodhue."

He waved such worries aside. "S'All right Jim."

The band passed through a series of hidden doors and passageways by means of various retinal and palm scans—and no end of armed guards and signs saying restricted area—, courtesy of the General. It was then that they approached a large elevator capable of holding all the men quite comfortably with room to spare and entered it. Secretary General Santos, Director Goodhue, General Spielburg, the President, the Vice-President, Kyle and Miki all went in elevator and took seats provided inside. The General said, "As for the seats, take them; it's going to be a long way down. I might as well take the chance to tell you the whole story."

Santos crossed his arms and gave a dirty look at the President from where he sat. "Fire away General. We've nothing better to do."

As the elevator began taking them some fifteen stories beneath the surface, the General took off his hat and slouched in his seat. "It all began decades ago in World War II when me and Goodhue were in the Marine Corps, he was my CO, the Major. I had been in there and had been dying for the chance to take it to Hitler and his damn Nazis. That wasn't to be. We did pull a little time in Europe, however, where we heard all sorts of stories about Frankenstein's monsters, like Ginko and the heart, being used by the goose steppers. That and how the Nazis were searching for the Ark of the Covenant and the Grail and other things. Thank God Dr. Jones was on our side."

That was when the President drew his finger across his throat and whispered to be quiet. Already suspicious of the man's every word and deed, the Secretary General looked at the President with a raised eyebrow. "Something to add to this conversation, Mr. President?"

A look of impotent desperation crossed the man's face until he looked to the General and said, "Oh fine. Tell'em."

Sighing in resignation, the General said, "I'm guessing you already know this with all the psis that you have working for you at Interpol…" Santos nodded. "…But for the sake of conversation, let's just say that the urban legend of the Ark being in a warehouse somewhere isn't a legend."

Santos closed his eyes and smirked. It may not have been a legend but it sure was a lie. They should check the warehouse; Interpol and the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword had 'liberated' it years ago.

"Anyways, Goodhue and myself had hoped to stay in Europe but we were sent to the Pacific to fight the Japanese. The two of us had dreams of being able to fight Jinguchi in his I-403 submarine but even that didn't happen. Goodhue and I wound up having the more mundane missions of island hopping across the Marshalls. The last one was Lagos, we went there thinking that it would be routine operation but it didn't happen exactly as we thought. You remembered what happened there, don't you Goodhue?"

Goodhue nodded and smiled. "Sure do remember. We were on the deck of our ship and it was the night before our assault on Lagos. We were talking about how the war might finally be coming to an end when we saw something streak through the sky. This lunkhead here-"

"Lunkhead? What the heck are you talking about Goodhue? Take it back!"

"Really? Should I know? Whether you like it or not, I, as Director of the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center, still outrank you so that means that if you don't like it, tough!"

Spielburg frowned and grumbled, "Fine, **sir**. Will I have to start peeling potatoes? Do so many pushups?"

Goodhue grinned. "Well I wouldn't go that far." Both he and the General laughed as they saw Miki's weary smile. Goodhue continued. "Anyway, Jim here asked 'An enemy plane sir?' I told him that no plane could move that fast. We both knew that it had to be a Foo Fighter, but when he asked if we should report it, I told him report what, that we were being invaded by little green men? Then I told him he might tell his son about it when he was born."

General Spielburg sighed. "You'd think that hearing stories like that, my son would grow up to become a movie maker or something. He became a librarian instead."

"Enough about Steven," said Goodhue. "We were hoping not to tell anybody but we wound up telling the men at Project Primate, they're the US Agency that revived Kong after he fell from the Empire State Building." Goodhue saw the Miki and Kyle nod. Though hidden from the public, the true battle on Lagos was common to people of their position. "They brought in Kong to fight Godzillasaurus and that was the last I ever thought about the Foo Fighter I saw in the night. But since the story about aliens is true I've got a feeling that it didn't end there."

All the men in the elevator looked at the General. "No, it surely does not end there. After the war was over we all got transferred back to the states where the two of us got to be part of Roswell Army Air Force Base. I was having drinks telling stories when General Ramey sent me to check out something that crashed in Lincoln County. It was… you know the story."

Suddenly Miki pitched forwards and clutched her head. Frightened, Kyle grasped her shoulder as she gasped for breath. He asked, "Miki, are you OK?"

She regained composure and nodded. "I'm alright everyone. Just a psychic sized headache."

"Are you sure Miss Segeusa?" asked the General. "If you'd like, we could take you to the infirmary."

"I'm fine sir, though I do appreciate your concern." That was all she could actually say aloud. Kyle had suggested bringing her along so that if the President tried to lie to them, she could detect it; psychics were quickly becoming indispensable in espionage. She sensed Kyle's concern and gave both him and the Secretary General a telepathic message that, despite the psychic surge, neither General Spielburg nor President Emmerich had tried to pull a fast one on them—yet.

Soon after convincing the General that there was nothing to worry about, the elevator stopped and the door opened. They then quickly got off and followed the General through a dimly lit hallway into the brightly-lit main research facility. There everything was completely white and the men and women were performing their experiments with beyond state of the art devices. The scientists gave the group looks as they walked past them; it was supposed to be a static free clean room and now they'd go to decontamination.

Although they'd all been walking at a good pace through the room, the group froze when Santos stopped dead in his tracks. He had been furtively glancing about and taking everything in but now he had to let it all out. "I don't believe it! Dang it, where do you get the funding for all this!"

" 'You don't actually expect that the US government spends $20,000 on a hammer, $30,000 on a toilet seat do you?' " Santos looked to who said that and saw the skinny young Hispanic woman who said that. She was dressed in a technician's white lab coat that covered a T-shirt with skulls and dinosaurs and had stylized silver armature glasses on her boyish face that hid her large eyes. She ran her hand through her wild short red hair but wilder still was the small creature on her shoulder. "C'mon, even President blockhead here isn't that dumb."

The General saw his guests' astonished expressions. "Friends, this is Professor Rosalinda, though you can call her Rosy. She's been in charge of the project for the past fifteen years and knows more about it than anyone alive."

"Yeah, but what the heck is that thing on your shoulder lady?" asked Kyle Martin.

"I know what it is," said Miki. "It's called a dorat. It's what I sensed earlier because it was born from King Ghidorah's blood. Wasn't it?"

Rosalinda smiled and looked at the smiling miniature one headed ghidra. Covered in golden scales, it was bipedal, no larger than a cat, and had one large head on a short neck and one tiny tail. The head was almost human in its ability for expression and in its full head of hair—albeit green. It waddled about on its stumpy legs on its mistress' shoulders and nuzzled Rosalinda as well. "Very perceptive Miss Segeusa. I assume that you were brought along to make sure that nobody would pull a fast one on your friends, is that right? In any case, come with me. I'm sure you want to see the big tamale."

She led them to the end of the main research facility to a large set of doors at whose sides were two armed guards. On seeing her clearance and one final palm scan they nodded. A blast of steam hissed out and the door opened ever so slowly at which they stepped inside into a huge hanger.

The General saw the amazement on his guests' faces and smiled. It was a vast cavernous room, two levels high with rows of computers and technicians scrambling every which way. All the attention in the room was focused on the reconstructed alien spacecraft. It was seemingly egg shaped without obvious corners and was jet black. "As you can see, despite the extensive damage it suffered in the initial crash, we have managed to repair it significantly. It can't fly of course, but we have been able to learn a great deal of their technology."

"Yes that's fine," muttered Santos. "But this isn't that… that alien invasion movie"

"Independence Day, by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich" interjected Professor Rosalinda. She looked at the raised eyebrows and shrugged. "So I'm sci-fi fan."

Santos rolled his eyes. He had enough "Devlin" and "Emmerich" to worry about in the President of the US. "Yes but unless the aliens that crashed here had anything to do with King Ghidorah, we're just wasting our time. Do you have anything useful to say about the monster? If that dorat is related to the demon I assume you have something to say Professor Rosalinda."

"That I do. Come with me please."

They continued walking until the came to a quiet, empty, darkened room. They passed steel doors and the General swiped his card at a terminal. With that, a large section of wall moved slowly upwards and the room wasn't as empty as it was before. It revealed three large cylinders filled with bubbling liquid, floating inside the liquid were the bodies of enormous man-sized cockroach like insects. In over fifty years since they had died, their bodies were slightly decayed despite the preservative fluid. Even so, the insects could still be seen clearly and whole.

The General gestured towards them. "You all know the story. They crashed in Roswell, New Mexico, and the US government took them from there to Hanger 18 and from there to here. I was there at the actual crash site when they were found; my men and I were sworn to secrecy." The General looked at Goodhue. "We never told anybody, but they came to warn us."

Santos turned from the giant insects to the General. "And they came to warn us about…"

"King Ghidorah, yes. However something went wrong and their ship crashed. Kubota was the only one to survive. I found him and brought him to the base. He told me, by means of his translation device, that he was from Nebula Space Hunter M and that for as far back as could be remembered that his race and others across the cosmos had fought against King Ghidorah and other skyllans. From what Kubota said, the damn things are the devil on earth and have been the biggest threat to life in the galaxy for sixty-five million years. Course, King Ghidorah is the worst of the lot.

"However, it was noted that some 12,000 years ago that King Ghidorah disappeared. Kubota told us what you said: The Ancients trapped him. The Neo-Space Hunters, the insects there, learned that when they came to earth during WWII. At first they thought only to study us during the 'battle between good and evil.' They were the pilots of the Foo Fighter we saw, including the one I saw at Lagos.

"The Neo-Space Hunters and their allies try not to meddle with developing civilizations like ours but they reasoned that culture shock was better than extinction. They figured they owed us because the Ancients of our world trapped King Ghidorah. They told us about King Ghidorah and how they wanted to help us. They even said that they went looking to recruit their old friends, the Seatopians. Y'see the Space Hunters and Seatopians had millennia of friendship before and after the Cataclysm. However, the Seatopians had faded out of sight about a hundred fifty years ago Kubota said. Neither they nor we ever found them though. Shame, wherever the Seatopians are right now we sure could use their monster to fight King Ghidorah. Megalon, isn't it?

The General then looked to the insectoid Space Hunters preserved in glass jars and remembered one who was not there as he wiped away a tear. "Good old Kubota, he was in that ship I saw at Lagos. Soon after I found him, the two of us became good friends and I was even there when he died. I buried him according to his planet's customs. I learned so much from him over all those years, more than I ever thought I could. Kubota came when he did because he knew that the Mysterians would begin their assault in the 50s. He intercepted a Mysterian message of having found King Ghidorah's sphere and Kubota and his friends told their superiors of it as they came to warn us. The Mysterians had every intention of taking over our world but they had the idea of freeing their old enemy, King Ghidorah, to have their revenge through him if they failed.

"To Kubota's relief, however, we beat the Mysterians before they had the chance of freeing King Ghidorah, not that Kubota knew where King Ghidorah's prison asteroid was. The Neo-Space Hunter fleet mopped up what we left and chased the remains of the Mysterian fleet out of the solar system. From what Kubota said, his people must have been dealing with the rest of the Garoaga during the Garoaga War, though they did send us Zone Fighter.

"However, don't think of trying to call the Space Hunters or Zone Fighter for help. The Garoagans took advantage of Atlantean satellites still in orbit after these thousands of years to keep that from happening. They programmed Old Atlantis' Slave Star Lucifer satellite to prevent any stargates, miniature wormholes used by space travelers to go from one star to another, from opening in our solar system. By the way, the Garoagans programmed Lucifer to unleash nuclear Armageddon and destroy civilization if it's tampered with. Makes the Ruskie satellite from '85 look like a squirt gun. So even if friendly aliens wanting to help us were to pick up a distress call from our world, it could take them centuries to get to Earth without stargates. The Garoagans' thought was that we would free King Ghidorah sooner or later and he would kill us for them because we'd be on our own."

Secretary General Santos put his hand to his forehead and said, "Clavos de Cristo. We have the how. I'm assuming that Kubota left behind information to deal with the demon if he ever escaped. Yes?"

Professor Rosalinda nodded. "That he did." She began to stroke her pet dorat. "It was from that information that I made my little friend. Come with me and I'll show you just we've been able to do."

They began walking towards the next room but as they did so, the dorat on Rosalinda's shoulder began shaking and buried its head on her neck. She gently stroked him in reassurance and opened the door. The Secretary General and others looked at the monsters caged in the room. Behind glass enclosures were gigantic dorats. Some where up to ten feet tall and in various states of development. Some had just one head while others had several deformed heads growing out of their shoulders or legs or stomachs. The growths were hideous but more so were the evil and cruel expressions on their faces.

Their eyes shone red with hate and their tails twitched in impotent fury. Some were golden and some were silver. Some were covered in smooth scales some were covered in rough plates of armor. They had horns or antlers or golden manes. Each one was different, no two were similar but in row after row of glass enclosures the giant dorats all looked at the humans with expressions of rage and loathing.

Sighing, Professor Rosalinda gestured to the monsters and looked to the floor. "Kubota left us a wealth of information concerning King Ghidorah. He also left ghidra DNA for us to study and it was from that DNA that we created the dorats. They were already created when I first came to the project to better understand what Earth might have to go up against one day. It proved to be very useful. From the dorats, we know a great deal of information on King Ghidorah's anatomy. However, not wanting to have a band of skyllans, we tried to make them smaller, more docile creatures and, with Kubota's help, we succeeded."

Rosalinda smiled a sad smile and wiped out away a tear. "I started out taking care of the dorats when they were just tiny little darlings. They were a monotonous bunch of clones, but that soon changed when I came. I played with their DNA to make the little guys every color of the rainbow. I said that it would give us a better idea of various types of ghidra but I just wanted to be the artist! A dorat for every occasion I said. I cared so much for the things that they nicknamed me Queen Ghidorah and I called my part of the project my 'Dorat Adoption Center.' Even after I became project director, I had a soft spot for these guys.

"All that changed when King Ghidorah came. We were already worried when we heard Salno over the news talking about the 'monster in question' and it turned out that we had good reason to be worried. We went to ask el presidente if we could contact you but he told us to zip it. After Ghidorah escaped, the dorats all began changing and not for the better. From the info Kubota left us, their bodies have been corrupted by his Taint and their minds ruined by his Fear. At first, they were just snappy and cranky but soon our worst nightmares became true.

"They've been getting meaner and uglier every day and some of us are afraid that they might turn into ghidras. I had hoped that I'd be able to save them and believe me, I've tried to reverse what happened to them but it hasn't worked. I've had to lock up my 'old friends' and keep them under lock and key… I've… I've even had to destroy some of them."

After wiping away a tear Rosalinda struggled to regain her voice. She then petted her companion as he looked on in fear at what his brothers had become. She allowed herself a slight smile and said, "Unlike his sibs, little buddy here is the only one that hasn't given in to King Ghidorah. I think it's because he likes me… but I don't know how much longer that will last."

She grew pensive before responding to her guests once again. "C'mon, there's more we have to show you."

The tour continued for several more hours as the General and Professor Rosalinda showed their guests around; as much of the base was shown as could be shown in one day. By the time it was done, everyone was exhausted and they stopped to rest, yet Goodhue was still ready for one last thing. The President had stopped and hidden himself in the dimly lit room where the dorats were locked away. As they sneered at him through the glass and the darkness, the man could only think of how the humans were only slightly less savage in their feelings towards him. Case in point in what happened next.

"**You**."

The President looked towards the man who had said that and saw it to be Director Goodhue. "Yes, me. What I can I do for you?"

The old soldier angrily strode across the room and quickly closed the gap between them. "How could you? Just when were you planning on telling us about all this?"

President Devlin Emmerich looked away from him and at a red skinned two-headed dorat. He could only weakly and numbly say, "That information had been deemed classified."

"Classified? Kubota came here to tell us about King Ghidorah, to tell the whole world! He told us that the most dangerous monster that ever lived was somewhere in our very asteroid belt and it never once occurred to you to tell anyone else. Do you realize just how many lives could have been saved if you had spoken up when this first began! You should have told us about this place when King Ghidorah first arrived. Hell, to fight Ghidorah was why Kubota came in the first place!

"Earlier administrations at least had the excuse that even they were never told that Area 51 wasn't anything more than an airplane testing facility. But as former head of the CIA you would have known the truth about this place. Why didn't you tell me about this when King Ghidorah first escaped! Why did you even open the asteroid if you knew that King Ghidorah was real from the start?"

All the sullen faced politician could say was, "I have my reasons."

"Your reasons," grumbled Goodhue. "You're the president of the United States and as a former general in the US army all I can say is that if you represent America, then I am ashamed I used to fight for it."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Eight

The days of the Monster Wars were dark days indeed for the entire planet and Infant Island was no exception. For thousands of years it had been a tropical paradise, untouched by the corruption of the outside world. Even the atomic tests that blighted the land long ago had been undone and the island returned to its former splendor. Yet all that changed when King Ghidorah reared his ugly heads.

He had landed on the island managed in order that he might make war against Godzilla and in doing so, he had brought ruin to that once fair isle. Because of his Taint, the people there were stricken with disease and were starving for lack of food. It was even worse than when Rolisika had tested its bombs; then there had at least been one small speck of green on the island to nurture the islanders' fragile hope. Now there wasn't even that.

The despair was especially terrible because of what had happened to Mothra and Battra; without those two to believe in, many Infant Islanders simply lost the will to go on living. It could have been worse though; with the Fear King Ghidorah wielded, the islanders could have easily all gone mad and killed themselves. Fortunately though, the Elias had been there to heal their minds and rally them towards the cause. After all, the Muvians, the Watchikas, the outside nations had all banded together against King Ghidorah; could not Infant Island lend its strength as well?

It could and was for at that moment, the egg of Mothra was ready for hatching. Soon after her near death at the hands of the King of Terror, Mothra laid an egg so that she, and Battra, could be born once again by the egg. Yet for months now, it had been an uncertainty if it would hatch at all and so Moll, Lora, and Belvera had all pooled their respective mental abilities into keeping it alive. Yet even with all their magic, both had been so ravaged by King Ghidorah, in both body and soul, that the three Elias could seemingly do nothing besides keep the sickly deformed egg from dying.

But that was about to change. When born again, Mothra and Battra recharged their energies by absorbing Earth's mana yet with it being increasingly poisoned by King Ghidorah's very presence, they had had to face either poisoning or starvation. When Moll and Belvera had been there to help Tenzin Yetrigar become a giant monster in the mountains of the Watchika, their magic had an unforeseen but beneficial side effect; it had temporarily supercharged mana levels around the world. However, any attempt to use this to make the egg hatch would have to be dome immediately. The charge could only last for so long and when it was done, the magic would be done as well.

In the huge cinder cone of the volcano that was at the center of Infant Island, was the village. Dominating the village, were the two stone slabs that had served as the resting slabs of the two great moths. In between the two slabs, was one gigantic egg; it was a mammoth gray globe with streaks of white and black. The Elias had been in communion with the two beings inside and had been told that they would be born this day. On hearing that, the islanders were overjoyed at the thought of their two beloved guardians alive and well and they were determined to make that thought reality.

They made ready the holy incense and played the sacred music on their drums; the island people knew that Mothra and Battra drew strength from their devotion and so sought to give the two all of it. The songs were sung and the chants were chanted and the white-bearded chief led his kinsmen in prostrating themselves before the egg as their daughters danced before it. They danced and the drums were played faster and faster; they could see it was working. In the light that filtered from the cone of the volcano, they all could see that the gray egg was beginning to shake. The shaking of the egg caused the whole land to quake but even so everything kept going faster and louder, faster and louder. Everything seemed caught up in a fever pitch; there was no stopping it and thus it continued ever more relentlessly, faster, faster, faster, until all of a sudden it stopped.

That was when the three Elias sisters stood before the egg. They stood united for they three were ready to sing their holy song. They three diminutive faye stood there; Belvera, the eldest, was at the center and her younger sisters were at her sides. She placed the Crest of Courage in her sword and set the glowing fairy blade forwards. Her sisters placed their Crests into their swords—Love's shining light for Lora and Wisdom's steadying force for Moll—and set the tips against the tip of her blade. The three points were placed atop the sacred Shield of Elias forged by their mother's magic and worn by their father. Their mother, the Dragon Queen, priestess of the first Prehistoric Mothra and chosen voice of the Great Tyrannosaur, had told them that if a great enough need were to ever come to bring the holy trinity of Courage, Love, and Wisdom together so that her power could be theirs. If either Mothra or Battra were to survive, then the time was now.

Ia ie hao la

Uha eka Mosura ya

Ia ie hao ma

Roha ena Mosura ha

The three sisters sang their song and the egg began shaking as the sacred song sent the mana coursing through it. The two inside the egg felt the music of the spheres give the strength of their mother, the Prehistoric Mothra. It began shaking; the shell began cracking. Shards of the egg were falling and egg fluid began to pour out. As this happened then the power from the Empyrean came down and filled them. It filled them as all the memories and knowledge wielded by the first one.

Ia ie hao la

Uha eka mosura ya

Ia ie hao ma

Roha ena Mosura ha

Kiri ewa jina hi

Mele wona kamai ka

It continued shaking and the cracks kept spreading. Shards from the egg began flying and then in one huge climax it burst open completely as a huge horn pierced the shell. It broke open and a huge piece of the shell crashed onto the ground. As the shell fell away the dread visage of the Black Mothra was shown. Battra lived again. He slithered away and trumpeted his return. However, he was not alone for behind him wriggled an ugly brown worm. Though covered in mucus and yolk the look in her eyes was inescapable. Mothra once more tread the ground with earthly feet.

The assemblage of Infant Islanders stood there and wept for joy. They leapt and shouted in exultation at this most glorious of sights and gave praise to the Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth that their beloved protectors were returned to them. That Mothra and Battra should die was common knowledge to the Infant Islanders but what they had feared this time was that the two would not return to them. So to see them alive and well was joy past reckoning. Moll and Lora merely stood smiling, unable to do more than wipe away joyful tears.

Only Belvera was unaffected. She walked towards them with her perpetual smirk. Upon sheathing her sword, she crossed her arms and looked at the two moths that just as soon turned their mammoth faces to look back at her. She remembered her attempts to call on Daiyo and Kong at the start of the Monster Wars and could only shake her head. Such actions had been borne from desperation but with Mothra and Battra alive once more, that need not be so.

"Well, hello you two," said Belvera. Welcome back."

"Where are those Spiral Grenade Missiles?"

Glen the gunner shook his head. "Still off line sir!"

In his commander's chair, Lieutenant Santos silently cursed. The cramped cockpit of the MOGUERA then suffered a tremendous jolt and he looked the screen to see King Ghidorah. "Fuji, evasive maneuvers! Glen, fire Plasma Laser Guns at his necks!"

"Yes, sir!" both men said.

MOGUERA began lifting off from the charred and blackened ground in an effort to evade the Prince of Skyllans. At first it seemed to work, the giant robot kept the demon from using his Gravity Beams with its weapons as it increased distance. However, that was when the demon fired Crimson Lightning from its wings at the machine. Inside the cockpit, the men covered their faces as sparks showered down and the MOGUERA fell to the ground with a gigantic thud.

Santos yelled "Fuji get us back up!"

"Negative, the drive train's shot!"

"Damn!"

King Ghidorah came towards them and gloated over the robot. Wrecked like a tin can it was, a tin can that would be destroyed along with the stupid little humans contained therein. He began crashing his club tails on the robot, each spine piercing deeper and deeper. That gave Santos an idea. "Is the drill nose still active?"

"Yes sir," said Glen.

"Fuji, get Glen into position to use it!"

With King Ghidorah's back turned MOGUERA pinned his tail to the ground with its remaining good "arm" and impaled its drill nose through it. The Prince of Skyllans wailed in agony as he felt the pseudo- flesh of his tail drilled through. Ignoring pain, King Ghidorah tore his tail away, thus knocking MOGUERA on its back in the process. He stood over the fallen robot and began biting and slashing its metal skin with snap after snap of his hydra necks.

Lieutenant Santos shot a look at Glen. "Fire Plasma Laser Guns and Cannon!"

"Affirmative!"

King Ghidorah was standing directly over MOGUERA when that happened and was shot across the stomach and chest by the burning energy. Nearly sent backwards, King Ghidorah regained his balance and fired a combined Triple Beam through the chest maser into the insides of the robot thus causing it to explode into so many tiny flaming pieces.

Back in the cockpit, the three men sat sullenly at their posts. Santos sat in silence, silence that he broke when he threw down his helmet in anger. He sat there for a moment before he weakly picked his helmet back up so that he might speak into the comm-link. "Test over. Deactivate simulator."

Japanese technicians outside the box shaped seven-by-seven-by-ten foot simulator did as they were told and gull wing doors opened at the sides of it. Glen and Fuji stepped out grimly and looked to their commander to be told what to do. The last one to step out, Lieutenant Tomas, Thomas if Anglicized, Santos of G-Force sighed and told his men, "Break. Rest, get a drink, whatever. Be back here in an hour. We still have three hours more training for today."

They both nodded and walked down the corridors of the underground Hokkaido based test range for UNGCC World HQ while their leader stayed behind. Tomas Santos was wishing for the millionth time that he didn't have his job. He leaned against the simulator and remembered how he had eagerly volunteered for the post of MOGUERA commander when it had been just Godzilla to worry about. Now it was King Ghidorah. Like it or not, however, he had his duty to perform; it was a fact that MOGUERA was perhaps the one human creation capable of destroying King Ghidorah. Perhaps. It was also equally likely to be blown to bits as was seen in the simulation he had just gone through. Even so, God knew that they wouldn't have even gone that far if not for all the information that they'd gotten from Area 51 concerning King Ghidorah.

Indeed, the information gleaned from that ultra secretive military installation had been a Godsend; casualties in assaults had dropped dramatically, victims of Taint or Fear could be treated much more effectively, monsters controlled by King Ghidorah could be freed, and training sessions for MOGUERA could be perfected. Perfected, for all the good it did. At least the redesigned maser weapons could actually hurt King Ghidorah. He had just absorbed the energy from earlier masers; the new design took into account the unexplained fact that energy beams from a reptilian kaiju could hurt him and had used Area 51 data to duplicate that effect. (Although the beast could still make forcefields to protect himself.) Not to mention modify electronics so they wouldn't short circuit so easily in his presence.

Thus Santos got up from the simulator and began walking towards the cafeteria, silently cursing the man that had freed the demon in the first place all the while.

"What was that?"

Tomas Santos turned to see who had said that. It was Kyle Martin. "What? Oh, hola Kyle. Just thinking out loud that Emmerich makes Porfirio Diaz look like Benito Juarez. Anything new with you?"

Kyle winced at the comparison to Mexico's most hated dictator and most sainted leader. "Nothing, just wrapping up from remote programming data for Red Ronin, King Ghidorah's attack patterns and such, for Steel Reign II. Are you OK?"

Tomas rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, just tired I guess. My men and I have been training for ten hours a day non-stop for a week now. We're the best in our fields, we have the finest machine G-Force has ever built and even in simulations King Ghidorah still destroys us every time. How much better does MOGUERA have to be? The best Mysterian tech was used to build it, and even some Peace Land tech Zone Fighter gave us."

Kyle bit his lip. "Man Thomas, you need to rest. You'll be no good when you fight King Ghidorah if you have to fight sleep at the same time. I mean, I'm training to pilot Red Ronin but I'm not killing myself before King Ghidorah does."

Tomas raised an eyebrow. "That is because you're only running backup. MOGUERA will be taking point."

"All right, all right. Wonder if the guys with Cyber-Saur are having this much trouble. C'mon, I'll buy you something at the cafeteria."

Tomas wearily smiled at his friend's offer and the two began walking. "Thanks. Oh, and sorry for snapping back there."

They were walking in silence for a while after that. "Yeah, me too I guess. Friends?" He saw Tomas nod and with that both smiled for it was forgiven. "Thomas, I've been wondering. Is it hard for you to do your job, y'know with your father being Secretary General and all?"

"You mean is there any extra pressure, that I have to be so good?" He saw his friend nod. "I suppose so but its nothing new. I've always wanted to be my best. I guess part of its that I want to give my father a son he could be proud of."

The kaijuologist smiled. "I wouldn't worry about that buddy. You're as good a guy as they come and I know your father is very proud of you."

"Gracias! Guess its that way the two of us, except that you don't have just your father but your brother and grandfather's footsteps to follow."

"Yeah, well… I've had other reasons for being in UNGCC," said Kyle as he reflected on bad memories. "Hey Thomas, why did you choose Glen and Fuji for your team? There had been other pilots and gunners trained for it from the start."

Tomas Santos grew thoughtful. "I asked them to come along on MOGUERA because they know what I'm up against. Glen and Fuji are top rate astronauts and they understand tech like this. More importantly, they were there when King Ghidorah escaped so they know what's at stake better than anybody else. It's also something that I want to give to Glen; maybe the chance of stopping King Ghidorah can ease what he's been feeling."

"He can't blame himself for what King Ghidorah's done," said Kyle. He didn't give the order; he didn't push the button. If anything he tried to keep the sphere from opening."

"That's what I kept telling him, but he wouldn't listen. Unlike other guys, both he and Fuji want this job bad and they have the brains to do it. The two are a duo and they're the best we could find for this." After pausing for a moment, Tomas asked, "Hey Kyle, do you remember whatever happened to the other guy, the one who actually did open the sphere?"

"Yeah, soon after the Monster Wars began, he put a gun to his head and that was that. But Tomas, why didn't you consider Yamabe?" asked Kyle.

Tomas Santos's froze in his place and, stunned by what Kyle had said, spoke without thinking who was with him. "Him? Diablos no! He doesn't want to save the day; he only wants some stupid revenge. A loose cannon like him does more damage to his own side than the enemy does. Clavos de Cristo, it's a tragedy that Yamabe lost his ship and his crew but we can't let hate get in the way.

"Fighting for hate's sake is the way King Ghidorah works. The day you give into hate you become what it is that you hate the most and when that happens, then the bad guys win. If I can have no other victory against King Ghidorah, then let it be this one: he can destroy my body but he will not destroy my soul. Yamabe says that he'll have revenge for the sake of his crew? If anything, Yamabe is shaming them by becoming as petty and vindictive as the monster that killed them."

Kyle was visibly shaken by what Tomas had said. He had devoted his life to killing Godzilla for the death of his brother and, even though his revenge was on hold for the time being, he still hated Godzilla and wanted him dead. Yet could he be dishonoring his brother's memory by becoming as much of a monster as Godzilla? Would Raymond have condoned or condemned Kyle's giving in to hate? Kyle was walking in total silence when he found his voice, weak though it was. "Doing it for the right reason, fighting for love, not hate. That's what separates us from them, eh?"

Tomas kissed his mother's crucifix hung around his neck. " 'And if someone should strike you on one cheek, turn and offer him the other.' Amen to that. C'mon enough philosophizing let's get something to eat." Then a worried look came across Tomas's face. "Are they still serving that rice and sushi? I mean, I m sure they like it but…"

"An open mind but not an open mouth, eh?" Kyle laughed. "Don't worry, the cafeteria has International Food-Court Day and Mexican cuisine is included!"

Tomas wistfully sighed. "Asi es. Las comidas de tu tierra natal."

"I know how you feel," said Kyle. "When I first moved here to Japan from the United States I didn't know whether to eat the miso or the tempura and I ate more instant noodles that first year than I thought a man could. Got lonely and went on a wild trip watching what felt like all the anime in the world, not to mention all that freaky hentai manga on the newsstands. Crazy wanna be shuuga. I stuck out like the gaijin I was and asked myself if this was how a black man felt in an all-white neighborhood. Sure it was nice how everyone was so polite and respectful but it just reminded me that I was guest, nothing more. If I hadn't met Miki that first year at Tokyo U, I don't know how I could have made it. She taught me everything."

"Yeah, she really is a guardian angel. Y'know Kyle, you're really lucky to have her be your girlfriend. I remember when she was just a little girl and I was piloting Angela with her. She's a kind woman and a brave one."

Then all of a sudden, Tomas smirked. "Just one thing, did you ask her how to use the bathroom?"

Kyle felt a wry humorless grin of his face. "No, I didn't have to ask. I remembered the scene from Mr. Baseball. Don't worry Tomas. It's kinda hard getting use to it all when you move to Japan. It's a whole 'nother culture, a whole other world. But you'll get used to it, and the food."

A sour look came across Tomas's face. "Just as long as the fish is cooked."

At that both men laughed.

Dr. Trevor was walking down to cobble stone streets of Inverness, Scotland, with the "Inverness Courier" in his hand. He walked along, barely noting the outside world, he the small, glasses wearing man. He walked along not noting the screams and the tens of thousands of people running for their lives; he was oblivious to the fact of people in cars driving out of town. He didn't even notice the G-Force, DFE, and British military jeeps rushing past on the paved streets, or the planes or helicopters or anything else. No, he was entirely absorbed in his newspaper.

As he walked off the road and made it to the Loch Ness Wildlife Center of the Loch Ness Wildlife Park, Dr. Trevor put all his attention on the article. It was about Ghidorah, Ghidorah, and still more King Ghidorah. That demon was as bad as thousand kelpies. At least it wasn't going to attack Scotland; if it had wanted to do that then it would have attacked when it was in Great Britain. The Black Dogs and Nessie might have been left irate by King Ghidorah's Fear, but no more.

Dr. Trevor ignored the scenic agricultural areas and military vehicles as he walked along the rolling green hills. Hmmm, what was the Prime Minister doing? He turned to that page in the "Courier." The man was apparently still distributing food and medicine among disaster victims and had authorized still more Scottish troops to fight in the DFE against King Ghidorah. With his nephew, Ian, in G-Force Dr. Trevor didn't know what to feel about that. The Monster Wars were seemingly the biggest military operation for the UK since WWII; it certainly felt that way with so many nations fighting under one banner. First it had been the Allied nations in World War II, now it was every nation in the UN and beyond under the DFE in the Monster Wars.

Trevor turned to the page in the "Courier," that discussed that. Now on the rolling green hills and headed towards the Wildlife Center, and away from the manufacturing town of Inverness which was seemingly failed to notice was in flames, he read in the "Inverness Courier" the list of the kaiju that had fought against King Ghidorah. There were Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra, Battra, Apophis, Septimus Scorpio, Sobek, Horus, Set, Anubis, and Frankenstein. The Doctor rolled his eyes at reading the suggestion that those monsters actually had any benevolent intentions towards mankind in fighting King Ghidorah. Everyone knew that the monsters were mindless animals, completely non-sentient and incapable of moral choices. That was one of the reasons he had tried to sell Nessie's spawn once. Its not as if the lake monster would have had any real attachment to the thing, but UNGCC had stopped him and returned the beast to the lake.

Still with his head in the newspaper, Dr. Trevor failed to notice the shadow appear around him. That was when a huge golden foot came crashing down on him. The one hundred fifty meter tall King Ghidorah felt the ooze under his heel. One sinuous hydra neck craned its head downward at the foot. The human had puzzled him; it had failed to notice anything until the moment of his death.

King Ghidorah turned around and looked at the ruined town on Inverness behind him. It had been to easy a kill, there was something else here, something worth butchering. He craned his heads upwards and looked past to see the loch, or lake, nearby. It was a lake some twenty miles long and one and a half miles wide. It seemed to be almost more a part of river Ness or the Caledonian Canal. Such names, of course, meant nothing to King Ghidorah. Yet he sensed something and then he saw it, a ripple of water coming up from Loch.

It was with that that its body lashed through the murky, brown, peat stained water and it reared its tan, eel like, frilled head in defiance. Her body was wet, wrinkled, and serpentine; at the sides of her body were four diamond-shaped fins. With beady eyes and leathery skin, Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster would suffer no intruders to her home.

Kiriko Tsujimori was walking across the test site to inspect the chief weapon of her plane, the Gryphon. The weapon had been under construction there for months now and was nearing completion. She was now at the test site in the Aral-Caspian lowlands in southern Russia. The Karagye depression between the Caspian Sea and the Aral Sea, lakes actually, proved to be a sufficiently isolated area for the weapon to be tested. Tsujimori was anxious for the test to begin; though the construction foreman had told her that haste makes waste and she knew he was right, Tsujimori still wanted the weapon complete.

She stopped by at the row computer banks at the temporary command base. She impatiently turned to the man in charge of the weapons test. "Professor Zhukov, how much time until the cannon is ready to fire?"

The old Russian man turned to the screen next to him. "Not much time now, Captain. Final countdown will begin in three minutes."

One of the aviators under her command told her, "It will be all right. Everything is going to schedule. There's nothing to worry about Kiriko."

Captain Tsujimori slightly frowned. She hated being called "Kiriko" by her subordinates; did they think they could get away with it because she was a woman? Said subordinate, a Japanese man, wouldn't have done it he'd been taking orders from a fellow male. She then grinned at how the now dissolved Soviet Union had placed emphasis on gender equality. They weren't racist—or sexist—they'd hated everyone equally! Zhukov there had certainly addressed her by her rank of Captain all the while.

She turned to the man under her command and said, "Maybe so, but as commanding officer of the airship for which this weapon is being constructed, it is my job to worry. Sure would have gone along faster if Uchihikra were here to help."

He looked to the technicians swarming over the newly designed weapon and readying it for its test. As he looked across the cold desert soil, he said "Maybe so, but he's in Europe with Mechanstein and Yetrigar to help with cleanup in Scotland. They might tangle with King Ghidorah there Kiri—I mean Captain."

Kiriko Tsujimori smiled; the man was learning. "Yes, I suppose Uchihikra might."

Their attention had been turned away from the subject at hand but it was soon taken up once again. The final countdown began and it was shouted out in English for everyone to hear. A large futuristic cannon like device was pointed towards a mock town. The model town had been built to the smallest detail, houses, streets, post offices, lawns, flag poles, etc., to gauge the destructive power of the weapon to be used. The cannon was aimed and was humming as the electrical systems went online. Tsujimori was still tense; that was because even though Vladimir Zhukov was the best qualified person to build the weapon and had followed Dr. Yoshizawa's schematics perfectly something could still go wrong.

That was when the countdown entered the final stage. Everyone prayed and silently looked to the cannon as it continued to glow brighter and hum louder. Then the countdown ended and the cannon, as silent as moonlight, fired a transparent shimmering ball of energy forward. It shot forwards and left the air shimmering in its wake as it hit the mock town. When that happened the energy ball burst into countless rays of light. Everyone except those who had worn darkened goggles had to turn away as the whole world was seemingly bleached white by noiseless burst. Yet when the glare died down, they were in for a sight.

Part of the mock town was still there; the rest was seemingly gone. Not destroyed or ruined but simply not there. A perfectly smooth hole, more of a half sphere, was dug into the ground. It was completely smooth, smooth as glass. The buildings surrounding it were intact, no burns, no radiation, no secondary damage, nothing. The buildings that had been where the energy ball had done its work had vanished as if they'd seemingly been teleported away; almost frighteningly, some buildings were cut in two. No damage, it was as half the building had been teleported away.

Captain Tsujimori smiled amidst a chorus of cheers in the background. With the weapon just tested atop her Gryphon, King Ghidorah didn't stand a chance. Maybe the Secretary General didn't think it would be a good idea to use the weapon but now that the results were in, he would change his mind for sure. Let's see how well the Prince of Skyllans held up against the fury of an artificial black hole!

The last group of civilians was running through the alleyways, trying to escape their town of Inverness. However when a stray Gravity Bolt struck a nearby building it seemed as if they were fated to die under the rubble. They fell down and screamed as the rubble of the ruined building came crashing down when the long gangly blackish green hand of a giant stretched outwards and shielded them. The din was horrendous and the dust covered them but when they opened their eyes they saw themselves to still be alive; the giant hand had shielded them from the debris. They looked up to see the gargantuan monster to which the hand belonged. It was Uchihikra and he motioned for them to get into his hands. In desperation they went in and the gangly creature took them, along with all the other stragglers he came across, to safety.

He carried them all outside the battlefield and came back repeatedly for all those who remained until the town of Inverness was cleared of civilians. Uchihikra was a protector of human life and that took precedence over all things. Yet with the humans now in relative safety, he could focus his attention on the battle ahead.

Meanwhile, Nessie battle with King Ghidorah was in full swing. She dodged his attacks as she slithered back and forth. This and the memory of the acid slime she had burned him with when she constricted him caused a tremendous fury to well up inside him. In his fury he extended his wings to fire his scatter shot Crimson Lightning. Even as the ground was torn apart, Nessie screamed in pain as the poisonous energy raged through her body. Suddenly, however, two enormous furry fists crashed down on King Ghidorah's back and sent him towards the ground like a pole axed ox.

Who was it that had done that? Who dared to attack King Ghidorah! Yetrigar, that was who. Like some Kong like beast, Yetrigar towered some one hundred meters tall and was covered with long straggly brown fur. His face and hands and chest and feet were bare yet were covered with leathery skin. Framed by strands of fur, is face was a firce ugly simian visage and his body was that of a destroyer. Once a mere yeti, Yetrigar's fur was now brown, instead of white, a side effect of the accelerated transformation. The Prince of Skyllans righted himself soon enough to destroy the worm. He'd sent Kong running fast enough, the same fate would befall this furry thing.

Yet with that Mechanstein charged in from behind. King Ghidorah couldn't believe it; had he not killed the undead man-monster? What the Star of Doom did not know was that he had been repaired and made more powerful by Red Bamboo growth serum and cybernetic attachments. Half his skull was now metallic as was his whole right arm and part of his left leg as well as was his left hand. Mechanstein' s red cybernetic eye gleamed with fury and he growled as he stomped the ground. As his tunic made from Japanese Giant Boar hide rustled, Mechanstein stood ready to fight.

As if that wasn't enough gangly Uchihikra came in as well; though the smallest of the three, his skill and guile were to be most useful as was his will to fight until death. As if he were Zone Fighter from years past, Uchihikra put himself in a martial arts pose and readied himself for the fight of his life.

King Ghidorah's looked at the three ready to oppose him and that Nessie had managed to escape. The Star of Doom's three heads threw themselves back and wailed their hatred. Intolerable! By the King of Evil, who destined that he would have to fight nothing but handicap matches? The hearts of those that opposed him were pure and brave. They could neither be infected by Fear nor be fed upon for evil. Tossing his hydra heads this way and that for the sake of rage, King Ghidorah screamed his defiance at his enemies and fired a barrage of Gravity Beams at them.

The most agile, Uchihikra dodged the blast and used his gangly limbs to catapult himself forward atop King Ghidorah's heads. He had been told in advance by his human daughter the pain to expect and braced himself as the demon's Taint burned him even as he held the demon's necks back. With the Gravity Beams gone, Mechanstein rushed forwards and rained down blow after blow on King Ghidorah, each spiked metal knuckle cutting deeper and deeper. The Prince of Skylans tried to electrocute both Mechanstein and Uchihikra with an electrical surge through his skin but Mechanstein cybernetic hands clamped down on golden hide to absorb the worst of it to power himself.

In his fury King Ghidorah sent his tail clubs flying upwards to impale Uchihikra but the astronaut kaiji managed to leap to safety in time leaving his clubs to drive their spikes into his own back. Seeing that his foe was stunned, Yetrigar went forwards and savagely brought his fists down like hammers at the base of King Ghidorah's necks then ferociously slashed with his Sasquatch teeth. King Ghidorah slipped away and fired his Gravity Beams but they did no good with the yeti's thick brown pelt in the way. With the demon's attention averted, Uchihikra dealt a roundhouse kick followed by a knife-hand blow. Nearly losing has balance because of it, King Ghidorah was ill prepared for Mechanstein's iron fists as they broke his wings.

Far from this, Nessie was already deep underwater in the Loch. She had sensed for herself when King Ghidorah first attacked Britain that it could not swim. Yet she could not stay under the brown murky waters of her loch forever, not if she loved her sister. Seeing without sight, but instead with sonar, she went a thousand feet deep to the bottom of the lake where she and the babe made their home. Causing bubbles as she rushed through the peat stained waters, she saw her sister cowering in a cave.

Sister wrapped herself around sister as if one was giving the other a hug. After their mother had died, Nessie had taken it upon herself to raise her baby sister; for that she had fought earlier in hopes of protecting her home and her sibling but to no avail. However, with these strangers sharing her enemy, that might not be the case. She sent her sister into the caves because their tunnels would lead her away towards the ocean. She could perhaps be safe there if her big sister did not survive. As soon as she saw her sister swimming off, Nessie turned her ugly brown frilled wrinkled leathery head towards the surface to do battle. Yet even as she did that, baby Nessie turned back towards her and halted in mid swim. Where was her big sister going off?

Back on the surface one other soon joined the battle. After King Ghidorah drove his tail clubs' spines into Mechanstein it seemed that the cyborg was doomed. Yet just as the Prince of Skyllans was about to kill him with a combined blast Triple Beam, he felt himself slammed from behind. He was toppled forward towards the ground and writhed in the iron grip of the one that held him. Nessie had been the one and her muscled coils held him fast. She began crushing his insides into pulp even as his skin began to smoke from her acidic ooze, even as her own skin began to smoke from his Taint. With their enemy cast unto the ground, the three heroic monsters came to her aid and to take advantage of their wicked foe's capture.

Uchihikra drained down blow after punishing blow on him. Yetrigar's fists delivered crushing strikes and threatened to break the demon's necks. Mechanstein's spiked knuckles slashed open his foe's skin. King Ghidorah loosed a surge of electricity through his skin but Nessie, able to generate voltage herself, absorbed it and protected her newfound comrades from the worst of it. It seemed as if the King Ghidorah was finished but if the Prince of Darkness would not yield to the Almighty God Himself then the Prince of Skyllans would not yield to these worms!

That was when the demon saw the answer. Though bound and suffocated by Nessie and beaten down by the three monsters, King Ghidorah managed to catch a glimpse of Baby Nessie peeking above the Loch's murky surface. Despite her big sister's admonitions, the baby had followed to see what was happening. Seizing this opportunity, King Ghidorah freed one of his heads and fired away from them into the Loch, reversing the polarity of his Gravity Beams as he did so to levitate the squealing infant from the waters' surface and into the air. On hearing the squeal, the four monsters looked up and saw Baby Nessie writhing in a bubble of energy, electric shocks zapping her intermittently.

On seeing this, the monsters were temporarily frozen, not knowing what to do. Uchihikra, Mechanstein, and Yetrigar were protectors; they guarded human life. (Indeed that was why they went to fight only after the town of Inverness had been evacuated.) Though the child was not human, it was still an innocent. Being the child's elder sister, Nessie didn't dare dream of her babe being put in danger. It seemed as if everything was silent until the King Ghidorah undid the energy sphere that the child was in and the child began to fall. Without so much as a single thought, Nessie immediately uncoiled herself and surged forward to where her sister fell and instantly made herself a mat to cushion her child's fall.

Free again, King Ghidorah struck a roundhouse blow with his club tails to all around him. Bleeding and torn as if they'd been struck with barbed wire bats, the three were staggered. King Ghidorah would be unable to fly because of his broken wings and he could neither use Crimson Lightning but he had other weapons at his disposal. He delivered a brutal kick to Yetrigar even as he club tails struck Uchihihikra and Mechanstein. Using his right head's Gravity Beams to keep the others at bay, King Ghidorah's central and left head kept slashing over and over at the downed Yetrigar, each needle tooth delivering its venom.

The demon wished to play dirty, eh? Yetrigar had been a politician before being a monster and thus knew every dirty trick in the book! The yeti monster grabbed his foe's heads in his massive furry fists and brought his jaws crunching down on them. In agony, King Ghidorah pulled his heads back and delivered a Triple Beam at his foe. Yetrigar writhed in pain and clutched his chest as he felt it the torment. He was on the ground, paralyzed, electricity zapping through his brown fur.

As for the demon, he had barely moved away from Yetrigar when Uchihikra rushed him and began to send karate strikes at his enemy. Bracing himself through the pain, King Ghidorah sent his outer jaws towards his foe's chest to clamp down on his eyes. Ignoring the pain, Uchihikra grabbed his enemy's necks and tried to throttle him. Seeing his friend in danger, Mechanstein slammed both fists onto King Ghidorah's necks and loosed the grip on the astronaut monster. King Ghidorah, quicker than the eye could see, slammed both his spiked club tails on Uchihikra's legs, breaking them. With one foe paralyzed, he turned to the other.

Though bruised, bleeding, wearied, and broken, King Ghidorah clamped one mouth on Mechanstein's right leg, the other on his waist and the last onto his throat, and heaved up the entire mass. Using his necks, the demon hoisted his foe hundreds of feet into the air and brought him crashing down. This was repeated again and again until the ground seemed to shake beneath his feet and the earth seemed to split open.

Yet suddenly an entire castle struck the demon! King Ghidorah was sent sprawling by the blow and was covered by the rubble. By the flames of Hell, where did that come from? From Yetrigar, that was who! He had picked up and thrown Urquhart Castle at the evil one in order to save his friend. However, as was seen in how he fell to his knees, the weary and bleeding sasquatch monster used up all his remaining fury born strength in doing so.

Nessie and her baby sister had seen this all from the safety of the murky waters of Loch Ness; they saw how the courageous guardian monsters were fighting their wicked foe. On seeing that King Ghidorah was leaving the battle scene, Nessie rushed in terror towards the depths of the water. She feared that with King Ghidorah's attentions drawn away from the battle, he might visit his wrath upon her. This was seemingly justified as King Ghidorah flew upwards on his wounded wings and, with great pain, held himself over the waters where Nessie hid.

However, it proved to be a false hiding place as King Ghidorah loosed his Crimson Lightning on the waters of the lake. Unlike his Gravity Beams, this was made of true lightning as was intensified by the water. Poor Nessie was close enough to the surface when the demon loosed his lightning that she was electrocuted. The pain of it knocked her unconscious and with that she bobbed upwards where King Ghidorah was waiting. Nessie's daughter and the guardian monsters could only watch helplessly as the King of Terror swooped downwards and impaled the talons on his feet into her sides and tore the brown, wrinkly, serpentine monster skywards from the lake.

Like a hawk with his hare, King Ghidorah rose higher and higher into the sky with his prize. More and more did Nessie's flesh decay as he poisoned her with his unholy Taint. Baby Nessie swam as fast as her diamond fins could push her in the thought of doing something, anything, to save her big sister. However, as fast as she moved, it was not enough as King Ghidorah quickly outpaced anything she could equal. Yetrigar, Mechanstein, and Uchihikra followed, despite their injuries. They would let their evil foe out of their sight and would not let the slightest chance of saving a life slip their grasps.

As for adult Nessie, she was held in the demon's crushing iron grip despite all her efforts to break free. She writhed and bleated out her call; she tried to slip out from his grip with her ooze to lubricate her escape but it was useless. King Ghidorah forced his mind on hers to drive her mad with fear and savor her torment. She was assaulted with horrendous nightmare imagery of the world destroyed, of her mother and sister dying over and over again; with that she screamed out in pain and fear. Writhing thousands of feet in the air, her mind was on the verge of breaking when she saw that King Ghidorah was drawing strength from this madness and took pleasure from it. With that, Nessie made one last futile, desperate symbolic gesture of defiance; she would have death before dishonor. She increased her acidic ooze's potency and production to the point that she would not survive and bit down over and over with all her strength onto the demon's legs.

Bracing himself through the delicious pain, King Ghidorah clamped his jaws down and tore Nessie from his legs, breaking her teeth and tearing off his pseudo-flesh in the process because they had reached their destination. They were now several thousands of feet above the ruins of Urquhart Castle; Yetrigar had thrown much of it at the demon. As he felt the lake monster writhing in his grasp, King Ghidorah though that if she wanted down, then she would have it!

With that, he cruelly and callously hurled her downwards from the awesome height. He threw her to her death. As Nessie fell screaming, she was so overcome with fear that she did not feel herself falling faster and faster. She could not have known that King Ghidorah had used his power to increase her weight several times over. All she knew was that she kept falling and falling until an explosion of pain left only darkness.

With that, the Second Battle for Europe was ended. When King Ghidorah had flown off, cackling his madness and taunting those that had lost the battle—and the one who had lost her life—military observers swore it was as if he were saying, thus be the fate of all heroes. What King Ghidorah did next was head northwards past the Arctic Circle and into the Pacific. This made no sense; all predictions suggested he would go back and finish nearby Scottish towns.

Yet in looking at the big picture, it made perfect sense. Planning the logical and emotionless destruction of an entire nation one moment, random, mindless violence the next, King Ghidorah was forged of madness. In truth, nobody could predict his next attack and that made him all the more dangerous. Of course, people wishing to live desperately tried to do so in hope of saving the lives of their fellow men.

With so many eyes on whatever the next move of the Prince of Skyllans would be, nobody stayed to look at the battlefield and this nobody saw a lone little monster on the shores of Loch Ness. After King Ghidorah hurled his foe to her death atop the ruins of Urquhart Castle, he had left her for dead. He knew death when he saw it; she could not possibly survive such a fall. He was right in his thoughts for though he did not remain, Nessie died soon after. Her every bone was broken and her leathery skin seemingly exploded under the fall. Across the jagged rocks and the rubble, her entrails were scattered. One of her diamond fins was completely severed and her others were hanging by threads. Her remains were like ground meat and blood formed a small lake as it flowed from her.

When Baby Nessie caught up with her sister, everyone else had long since left. She and she alone was there when the adult Nessie perished. She alone was there to lick her wounds; she alone nudged the blood towards the cuts from which it flowed as if telling it go back or her sister would die. She alone was there to press her cheek to her sister's even as the blood gurgled from her mouth. She alone and nobody else was there. Nobody was there except her. Yes, when the sunset there at Loch Ness, there was just one little monster all by herself crying for her dear sister.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Nine

With that, Kyle Martin shot up from the bed where he slept. He then instinctively looked around and saw he was alone; he was glad that nobody except Tomas was there to see him like that and Tomas was asleep. Kyle saw nothing in the darkened room, not even himself, yet he knew he was shaking and sweating a cold sweat. In this state, he checked the clock at his side and saw that it was two in the morning at G-Force Base in Hokkaido, Japan, where he was. With that, he threw off the covers and, in his pajamas, went to the nearby porcelain tiled washroom. He turned on the light and looked into the mirror.

Good God he was a wreck. He saw himself in the mirror and saw there were lines underneath his eyes and that stubble was growing. He was shaking and sweating; he felt clammy all over. He had had a terrible nightmare; in it he saw himself as a baby Nessie and his big brother, Raymond, as the adult Nessie. It was the same dream, over and over. Him of all people, pitying a monster… He was there and so was Raymond. In every nightmare, the danger came and Raymond tried to stop it, tried to save Raymond and every time, Kyle was left alone, every time his brother died.

Before the kaijuologist knew it, he was crying. That he could still cry hardly surprised him; for the most part, Raymond was the only family he ever had. Kyle barely remembered his parents; they died in a car crash when he was very young. However, he remembered enough to mourn them and feel that he'd been betrayed. In fact, when as a little boy he lay alone on dark nights in his bed, Kyle secretly… hated them. After all, how could they have left him? Of course he knew that it was pointless to hate them; there was no way that they could have prevented their deaths, they could not have known. Even so, Kyle still grew up not knowing what to think of them.

His big brother, on the other hand, was a brother, a friend, and a father all at once. Raymond had been seven years older than his little brother and upon their parent's death had knowingly taken it upon himself to be the guiding light in his younger brother's life. Raymond had never lorded it over his Kyle; he'd never abused his power. Raymond had always made his choices thinking if it could help Kyle; he had always been the first to help Kyle, the first to stand up for him. It hadn't been easy for a boy Raymond's age to have such responsibilities, but he took them on, almost sacrificing his childhood, knowing that it was what their father would have wanted.

Well no, that was not entirely accurate, calling Raymond Kyle's almost father. Their grandpa, Steven Martin had taken both in and raised them. As their only living adult relative, he was the only one that could have done it. He cared for his grandchildren as best he could and did an admirable job. He made sure that they received a good education, received the best moral instruction possible, and had a firm grasp of responsibility. They were happy times until that dark day came.

It had happened shortly after Godzilla had been cast into Mt. Mihara in 1985. The world knew that he was imprisoned in the inferno and hoped he would never again be seen by human eyes, yet many feared the chance, however slim, that he might return. That was perhaps why the world listened when a young girl named Miki Segeusa predicted that Godzilla would rise once more. She claimed to have telepathic power and that she saw a future in which the King of the Monsters would live again. Despite readings at Mt. Mihara that seemingly confirmed what she said few believed her, except for Raymond.

By that time Raymond had gone away to study kaijuology at Tokyo U and was a graduate student for Dr. Hayashida. Hayashida was confident that Godzilla would escape through Mt. Fuji and took Raymond with him. Alas, Miki was right. Godzilla did escape through Mt. Fuji and one of his first victims had been Raymond Martin. Kyle had barely come home from school when he suspected something was wrong. He saw his grandfather standing alone in silence and then he had cast a sorrowful look at him. With that Kyle knew what had happened and his grandfather's nod confirmed it. He could only weep in his grandfather's arms and, indeed, he wept all night.

They went to Japan to see Raymond's funeral. At first, Kyle had wanted to hate his brother for betraying him, for leaving when he had promised that he would always be there. But that hatred was soon channeled towards someone else. It had not been Raymond's fault that he had died. Kyle remembered what Hayashida has said about that day and Kyle knew that it had been Godzilla's fault. Godzilla had killed his brother and it would be Godzilla that would pay, who would suffer, against whom he would have his revenge.

He told his grandfather that, thinking that he would understand. Kyle remembered the stories of monsters that he had been told since earliest childhood. His grandfather had told him that far from being a mindless animal as so many said, Godzilla was an intelligent being that knew exactly what he was doing. In his fevered anger, Kyle imagined that the monster had singled out his brother for death.

He had tried to console his surviving grandson, saying that revenge was a sin and that he shouldn't stain his brother's memory with hatred. He said Raymond wouldn't want his brother to poison himself with thoughts of petty revenge. It proved little consolation and still the fire for vengeance burned in him. The fire was only rekindled when he met her.

In keeping with what had become the family business, Kyle decided to dedicate his life to monsters and to do that he went to study kaijuology at Tokyo University. His grandfather having been a student of Japanese culture and language, Kyle was well prepared for the experience. Even so, Kyle was still very much out of place and if it hadn't been for Miki, the situation would have gone far worse. Miki proved a tremendous friend from the start and helped him adapt as she helped all gaijin students but when she learned that he was Steven Martin's grandson, things just took off from there.

As Miki had admired Steven Martin since early childhood and had first edition copy of his book, she was honored to meet the grandson of the man who wrote it. That wasn't to say that Miki didn't share fame. Everyone knew that she had predicted Godzilla's escape from Mt. Fuji and that she was being trained to be UNGCC's finest agent. Kyle and Miki quickly went from friends to lovers, became inseparable and graduated together. They were then jointly recruited into the United Nations Godzilla Countermeasures Center. It was only when they finally entered their field of work that the trouble began.

Kyle still hated Godzilla and he admitted that he wished to kill him for his own reasons. By then, however, he had also obtained a more important reason for fighting. He had seen all the pain that Godzilla caused not only to him, but to countless others as well. Families ruined, cities destroyed, Kyle's heart broke for all those poor people and he vowed that he wouldn't forget them. He vowed that what happened to them, what happened to him, he would not let happen to any other and if he had to kill Godzilla to do so then so be it.

Miki, on the other hand, actually loved Godzilla. She had come to believe what Kyle's grandfather said of the beast being a strangely innocent and tragic monster, that the beast existed for a purpose. Godzilla—or Godzillasaurus—had saved her grandfather's life in World War II and had saved her own life mere days before the world learned of his return in the 1980s. She claimed to pity the monster for being hated and misunderstood. She said that she did indeed pity the human lives lost—and Kyle did believe her—but that she also hoped to change Godzilla for the better. After all, he listened to her and let her serve him as his conscience. Or so she said.

Kyle didn't want to believe Miki's claim that there was even a drop of goodness in Godzilla. He wanted to believe that the monster was an abomination, a freak that didn't deserve to live. And yet, if the monster were to be truly evil then he would have to choose to commit acts of cruelty by his own free will and did not free will mean he could also choose to do an act of good? Could he be saved as Miki said?

Such thoughts hurt Kyle, especially considering how much his grandfather sided with Miki. Steven Martin seemingly loved her more than him and such a thing left Kyle feeling that he truly alone, that nobody cared for him. It was all fine and good that his girlfriend be so welcomed into the family and he knew that she did loved him, but sometimes it hurt being alone.

With Kyle's vendetta against Godzilla driving an ever-deeper wedge between him and Miki, he wasn't sure if their relationship could last. Maybe he should try to talk to her; it had been almost a week since they'd last chatted. That's the thing with war; you go to fight for those you love yet you do so knowing that you might never see those you love ever again. But as the days and months passed he began to wonder if they were meant for each other, maybe all that was happening was proof that it just couldn't work out.

At that, Kyle shook his head. He tried to understand Miki's feelings, he really did, but with all the lives lost to the monster's wrath how could he not seek to end his reign of terror? Kyle thought that if he were not to do so then that he would betray the memory of his brother and all others who were killed by the beast. That was when he remembered something else; before it, he would have tried to make things work for Miki and himself, hoping that love would conquer all. But after it, God only knew what the future held for himself and her. The memory was of him actually saving Godzilla's life.

It had been at the start of the Monster Wars, before King Ghidorah's battles with Apophis. Knowing the feud between Godzilla and King Ghidorah would destroy the Earth and that the DFE & G-Force couldn't fight a war on two fronts, Kyle had taken it on himself to kill Godzilla. His Toxin apparently worked when he felled the King of the Monsters. Yet when Miki showed him how much more destruction the Prince of Skyllans would cause without his foe to keep him in check, Kyle felt doubt creep in.

That was when King Kong came. The world knew well of Kong and Godzilla's hatred towards each other and yet, according to Miki, Kong had chosen to put aside his feelings of enmity because he recognized Ghidorah's threat and that he had to be stopped no matter what. The ape had also known that Godzilla would have to survive to claim final victory. The ape's struggle would have been in vain if not for Miki's pleas towards Kyle. She told Kyle that if even Kong could give up his feud with Godzilla why couldn't he? What followed had been the most difficult decision that Kyle had ever had to make but he nevertheless made it. So as to keep King Ghidorah from winning, Kyle, being the only one able to reverse the Toxin's effects, had saved the monster's life.

But if there had been any doubt as to the hatred between Kyle and Godzilla before, there was none now. Shortly after Godzilla awoke he looked at Kyle and remembered him as the one that had done this to him. Not that he didn't remember him from before; from his telepathic discourses with Miki, Godzilla knew that Kyle was the one person that hated him the most. Before then, the King of the Monsters had been content to ignore the human and even acknowledge the good that he did in caring for Miki but now the hatred was returned in full. Godzilla feared not death nor anything else of this world but the thought that he would perish without first having his revenge against King Ghidorah was unthinkable.

Both had left the battlefield before they called each other enemy once more, both knowing that their final conflict lay yet ahead. Kyle knew the might the King of the Monsters could bring to bare and Godzilla knew the cunning weapons and machines that the human could call in. Would the human fight him face to face within a machine or fight a shadow war and use a poison as before? Kyle knew he would use both, he would use the Toxin once more if need be just as he would pilot the machine Red Ronin. He knew that just as he knew that when their final showdown came only one would walk away alive.

And yet that need not happen if he hadn't broken down and saved the beast! When he poisoned it with his Toxin, he had won; he had killed Godzilla as he had promised his brother. But he'd been unable to do it; he had been unable to finish the job. He had failed his brother and had let him die for nothing. God in heaven, Kyle knew that once the Monster Wars were done he would kill Godzilla! He would kill the monster no matter what!

Then in a swell of anger, Kyle screamed and slammed his fist against the mirror. He then yelled in pain as he felt the shards of glass dig into his hand. With that, Tomas woke up and looked around. Seeing the light from the washroom, he jumped out of bed and ran there. On getting there, he saw Kyle cradling his bleeding, glass cut hand in front of the broken mirror. Shocked, Tomas said, "Clavos de Cristo! What happened Kyle; are you alright?"

Turning his gaze away from his friend, Kyle looked to the ground. "I'll be fine. Just had a bad dream, that's all."

"Bad dream or not, we better get you to the infirmary and check that hand. Hope this doesn't happen again amigo, I'm going to get transferred to Area 51 and won't be here."

He glumly nodded towards Tomas. "Sure. Let's go." With that, Kyle let himself be led out to see the doctor. Yet his feelings were unabated. Even as the blood came from off his hand Kyle hatred burned no less fiercely. He that no matter what it took, no matter the odds, even it took a thousand years and a thousand lives, he would have his revenge.

While it was 2 AM in Japan with Kyle Martin, it was 11 AM back in Chicago with Steven Martin. While he had volunteered here and there in the war effort, ever since the Monster Wars began, Steven had mostly stayed home. He had accepted early on that the battles against King Ghidorah were clearly beyond his power to influence, directly at least. In older days, he went where the action was to record history even as others made it. While he had once recorded the stories of gods and monsters those days were long gone. Now he was an old man, old and tired. He could no longer go to the front-line to fight the good fight, not that he ever really did, but he knew that others could do so in his place.

That was why Steven Martin had done what he could for his kaijuologist son and others such as Kyle and Raymond and Miki. Director Goodhue would often ask him to speak before new G-Force recruits about the responsibilities that they would face and the knowledge he had, the wisdom, was revered by all. That was one of the reasons why he still did what he could. His powers as a reporter, as a wordsmith, were still there and always would be. Because of that he still fought the good fight as well he could by pen and ink; after all, the pen is mightier than the sword.

At the moment he was at his study; it was the same room where he had been typing material for a book, Cairo via Tokyo, when he had sensed that Godzilla returned in 1985. Now so many years later, he was still typing away at his mechanical typewriter, white out ready to undo any mistakes. Steven had spent all morning passing the thoughts through his mind, searching for the best ones to commit to posterity. He shifted in his seat and looked to the frames decorating the white walls.

He saw pictures of his family through the generations, all the way from his grandfather to his own grandson. He saw pictures of his many past adventures where he went chasing Godzilla or some other monster around while trying to make sure he stayed alive to get the story back. He saw ones with Walter Cronkite, Connie Matsu and others. He also saw a picture of himself with Nadia Raltique, the woman whose editorial guidance turned Britain's Planet Times into Earth's United World News, and her inventor husband, Jean Roque Raltique. It had been taken back in the forties and was signed, we hope you get home safely.

Steven Martin then took a sip of his tea—it was very good tea, he had to remember to thank Emiko for it—and turned back to his typewriter. Before he knew it, his words began flying across the keys and the click-clack of ink coated metal began hitting paper covered metal once again. The old newsman had never trusted computer word processors; not that he was unable to use them, he could use them fine. It just that he was too set in his ways for him to trust a machine that made words he could neither feel nor touch. Steven stopped typing and took another sip from his blue china cup as let the thoughts simmer in his mind. He then resumed his work.

He was typing a letter to be posted in the Chicago edition of United World News; the Lawrence clan was kind enough to post his letters in their newspaper any time. It had been the last wish of their late patriarch, and old boss of Martin, George Lawrence. For that Steven Martin was quite grateful. In fact, he had been taking advantage of that arrangement quite often in recent months in his attempts to exhort people to action in the Monster Wars.

Yet it was not only in writing letters in his old newspaper that he had done his part. Martin had written to The New York Times, National Geographic, Life, and any other who would listen. He had made appearances on talk shows and had been interviewed on CNN, he had given speeches at meetings and rallies, he had spoken at street corners and in allies, and he had preached at the pulpit of his church so that all would hear. He was a lone voice crying out in the wilderness hoping that those out there would hear the truth even if it was a most unsettling one.

The truth was this. Over the course of months that he had ravaged the Earth, King Ghidorah hadn't passed by the United States, not even once. The beast had attacked most every other country, bringing rack and ruin with every footfall. He had menaced Europe, Africa, Antarctica (he had destroyed a scientific research lab), Asia, Australia, South America, and even North America but not the US. Martin's grandson had told him of the slaughter left by the demon in Mexico City. King Ghidorah had also ravaged Canada; Lupis the wolf monster had put up a good fight but he had had to retreat, not that anyone could blame him. Yet despite all this the United States had suffered no attack. Why?

Steven Martin knew not but he somehow did know that it was only a matter of time until the attack came. In that there was a wrenching sense of foreboding, as if you were in a guillotine face up and could only stare at the blade and wait for it to come down and take your head. He had felt this way once before, back in World War II. He had been little more than a boy in those days, unwilling to take up arms against the country he had fallen in love with because of his friendship with Daisuke Serizawa, his college buddy. After Pearl Harbor he had stayed in college as long as he could to avoid being drafted—Serizawa, on the other hand, had gone home immediately to enlist with the Imperial Japanese Army—and when that day came he registered as a contentious objector.

It wasn't that he was somebody to ignore the threat simply because he did not wish to acknowledge it, far from it; even when he had been but a boy in the Great Depression, Martin had done all he could to keep apace with world news. In recent times, people of America kept up on world events as well. They were afraid and they wanted to do what they could to prepare yet President Emmerich was the proverbial ostrich with his head in the sand in that he refused to acknowledge what was going on.

Congress and the other offices of government, on the other hand, were doing everything they could. They were importing advisors from other countries, they were trying to initiate rationing, they were coordinating defense plans with G-Force and the DFE, giving food and comfort to stricken nations, etc. They felt that now, while America was still strong, was when it should do what it could. However, the United States would be doing more, such as actually engaging King Ghidorah in battle, if President Emmerich were not hampering its efforts.

Ordinary people, on the other hand, sought to take matters into their own hands. Many people were already beginning to store food & water and were making shelters in their backyards. Others were taking courses in First Aid and Survival and other things. Some people were already evacuating the cities and hiding out in secluded areas in hopes that King Ghidorah would not find them when he came. People were volunteering for service in the armed forces in record numbers. Those soldiers already in the American armed forces were leaving their posts and volunteering in the DFE to fight King Ghidorah right away. Even corporate America in all its greed began rationing its products and selling, almost giving, its goods and services to G-Force and UNGCC in their efforts against the space demon.

And at last, Steven Martin was done. Sitting in his chair, Martin finished off the little tea that remained in his cup and removed the sheet of paper from his typewriter to proofread it. It was all well and good and said exactly what he wanted it to say. It was a scathing letter of condemnation against President Devlin Emmerich, faulting him for everything he had done wrong and would do wrong. Getting up from his desk, Martin walked through the darkened halls of his Chicago home and picked up the telephone to ask the people of United World News if he could make the evening edition. On being told that he could just barely make it, Martin thanked the man and hung up.

Martin knew that he normally didn't have such a tight deadline so he searched his thoughts and realized what it probably was. Unless Martin was mistaken, today was the day that the President officially opened the new plasma power plant somewhere in the Midwest. Martin sighed and slowly shook his head at the thought. Of all the boondoggles that could be done, this would have to rank among the worst. When the man should be preparing for war, President Emmerich was playing with his new toy.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Ten

It was later in the day that the "President's new toy" was opened. Even before the sphere was found the opening of a plasma power plant had been a source of controversy for the President. Now with the man's approval rating falling to an all time low, it was an act of insanity and desperation. The question was, would the man's gambit payoff? That was why many reporters were there to wait and see.

It was in front of the power plant set in among Kansas fields under a clear blue Kansas sky that President Emmerich was giving his speech. With his Vice President at his side, he was in giving it under a bright happy sun on an open-air platform, raised about five feet up of the ground, for all to see. With the Monster Wars and all things related to it taking up all the best reporters, those recording President Emmerich's speech were second, third and fourth string and even they hated it.

It was strange. A person would think that, being such junior members of their various newspapers, they would jump at the chance to hear what the president had to say. They didn't. Why? It was because they didn't like the man one bit. True, a reporter had to be as free of bias as possible in reporting an assignment, but to have anything to do with Devlin Emmerich that didn't involve writing negative comments about him left a reporter with a bad taste in his mouth.

"And so," concluded the President's speech, "this marvelous feat of engineering is now complete. While it failed to make inroads on Japan and other countries, Plasma Energy and the nigh limitless power it will provide will be put to use here in the United States, thus making the land of the free even greater than before." Smiling, he took the large ceremonial scissors from solemn looking Vice President Franklin Smith and held them high for all to see. He then used them to cut the ribbon thus showing that Plasma Power Plant was officially open. The usual band played along with many balloons released into the air.

However, and perhaps not surprisingly, there were few cheers among the small audience and those cheers quickly ended. Soon enough, there came the questions. Visibly disappointed that no one aside from those whom he had paid to do so had clapped for him, Emmerich glumly looked to the sea of reporters and pointed to the nearest one.

"Ronald Troupe, Daily Planet. Mr. President, Plasma Energy production has been deemed unsafe several times and has even been condemned by the International Atomic Energy Agency. They say that this facility should not have been built and that this is, quote 'Another Chernobyl waiting to happen,' end quote. Mr. President, what is you response to these claims?"

Devlin Emmerich chafed at the young man's words. "I assure you and the public that this facility is perfectly safe. It has been reviewed by the finest inspectors in the United States and has passed every test it was put through."

Troupe was unconvinced. "According to my sources, you hand-picked those inspectors yourself."

An angry scowl crossed his face. "No comment." He looked from the platform and said, "Next question."

"Vicki Vale, Gotham Herald. Sir, there is a rumor that you are opening this power plant not for any desire to help the American people but to improve your image. Is there any truth to these claims?"

"I'd never do such a thing next question."

Some traded skeptical looks. The rushed, nervous way that the man said his words seemed to indicate otherwise. Soon enough, however, the next reporter asked his question.

"George Taylor III, Daily Star. Mr. President, why are you here at all?" Taylor's eyes glared at the president, betraying his hostilities. "The question we all want answered is why are you wasting your time with this boondoggle when you should be committing all the forces of the United States to fighting King Ghidorah? Despite constant demands from the DFE for troop support you have done nothing to help the cause despite the pledge you gave that you would stand by the DFE should the need ever arise in your election speech. Hell, several of America's top generals have resigned and at least one has tried to overthrow your government! The monster is a global menace that will seemingly stop at nothing short of the destruction of all life on this planet. If you let the world be destroyed, I seriously doubt that you'll have much of a chance at winning re-election."

"Further words like that, and I'll hold you in contempt, sir. Scientists have assured me that there is no chance that King Ghidorah will attack the United States. He hasn't before, why should he do so now?"

Taylor raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? According to Steven Martin, you bribed hand picked scientists to say those things. And let me guess, their identities can't be disclosed to us because of Executive Privilege? Mr. President, what of the fact that the Japanese discontinued Plasma Production because of how it seemingly attracted Godzilla more than nuclear energy? Even if you were right and King Ghidorah would not attack, wouldn't opening this Plasma Power Plant serve to attract him and perhaps other monsters?"

Infuriated, the President shouted, "You have no right to say those things! You have no right to question my authority!"

Vice President Franklin Smith stood at his master's side. Sometimes it almost felt that way, that Devlin Emmerich was a master to whom he was slave. Smith had stayed silent through his boss's entire speech and held his tongue even now. It was because he knew that if he said so much as one word, it would be a bitter one directed towards his superior. Over the course of the Monster Wars, Franklin Smith had grown increasingly disillusioned with the man he served and this was only heightened by President Emmerich's utter apathy in this situation.

Looking at the man rant and rave at his detractors, Vice President Smith knew that everything people said about their leader was right. A part of Smith wondered if he should give up his post and let somebody else take the job. But no, Smith knew that he would have to everything in his power to help Earth win the Monster Wars, even if meant putting up with the tyrant. Still, Smith just felt his blood boil at the thought of working for this man.

He couldn't believe he'd defended his boss!

Far from Franklin Smith an aerial battle was being waged above the skies of the Hawaiian Islands between the alleged terror of the skies and the scourge of the galaxy. The scourge of the galaxy was, of course, King Ghidorah while the terror of the skies was Fire Radon, mate of Rodan. The world had thought it had seen the last of them when they were cast into the volcanic Mt. Aso but they had survived. The male had clawed his way from the inferno during an eruption while the female had stayed behind and absorbed the uranium to become far more powerful than before. With her newfound strength she had managed to burst through the side of the mountains in order to find her beloved.

They indeed found each other again and were happy though most humans feared that it meant that they would face the same problems as before and that perhaps the problem would multiply itself. Far from it, Fire Radon and her now little love, Rodan, the Lady and Lord of the skies had had their fill with humans and had found refuge from them in the most isolated land they could find. It had been in the Hawaiian Islands, which were right in the middle of nowhere, on Kaula, a tiny isolated islet south west of Kauai.

Despite some saber rattling, those humans with clearer heads chose to grant the two monsters their sanctuary in hopes that they would respect the borders of human lands just as humans respected theirs. To their credit the two monsters had proved better neighbors than most humans; they stayed on their islet of Kaula venturing nowhere near the other Hawaiian Islands and causing humans no harm. Indeed, Fire Radon even proved some use in her battles against the destructive lava monster, Pele.

However, her battles against Pele left her with no preparation against what she faced now. As for King Ghidorah, his battles with Horus left him everything he needed to know. After killing Nessie he had gone north past the pole and found himself on the opposite side of the world, here and it was here that he found a foe to challenge and destroy.

The pterodactyl monster rushed the Star of Doom as a flame red streak hoping to slash him with the edge of her wing. King Ghidorah let her strike and, hovering in midair, turned around to look at her as she banked around. The Prince of Skyllans looked downwards at the wound; it was small enough to heal itself in seconds. The demon felt that he had had enough playtime and that it was time to end this.

Spreading his wings he began his hurled himself forward through the skies at his foe. However, Fire Radon fell back using her superior speed and agility to take the advantage. King Ghidorah saw this and knew that she was trying to use the same tactic that Horus had used against him and that Fire Radon's mother had used against him eons ago in the Mesozoic Wars. Seeking to stop it before it started, King Ghidorah fired Crimson Lightning in a scatter shot. The female tried to use her aerial grace to dodge her attacker's bolts as best she could; indeed she was seemingly in five places at once. But when the stray bolt hit the female she was paralyzed and the demon immediately turned his three heads to fire a Triple Beam.

Despite having hide strong enough to withstand the flames of a volcano, Fire Radon shrieked in pain as the combined Gravity Bolts tore through her. When it finally stopped time seemed to slow as her singed, smoking body fell from the blue skies to the sea below. They were so high up that the sea looked like a smooth shining sheet of blue and the islet below was merely a green dot. Yet further and further she fell until the painful sting of the ocean water met the pterodactyl monster.

The splash was tremendous and the waves it caused were great and the waters covered her. Her last defense was pathetic and weak, just like her mother's, "thought" King Ghidorah. Now that that was done, the demon sought to find and finish the rest of her little family. For all King Ghidorah knew, the female had hidden a clutch of eggs somewhere on the island; Fire Radon's mother did the exact same thing for Radon and Rodan to have survived in the Japanese mine. Now it was just a matter of finding those eggs.

Meanwhile, back in the warm salty waters of the Pacific, Fire Radon, half submerged in the water, looked skywards at the demon. Fearing for the life of her mate, she rallied all her strength and tried to break through the utter agony. No matter what the pain, no matter what the cost, she couldn't abandon those that were depending on her!

As for her mate he was already preparing for their enemy's arrival. He had been injured earlier when the demon first attacked and was now hiding because of his wounds. Rodan had placed the egg in a hidden location; there was no chance that they might be found, or so he hoped. Now the brown pterodactyl was walking in between the huge trees. Like other Supersaurs, Rodan communicated telepathically and had thus sensed that King Ghidorah did as well. Fire Radon's mate had sensed that she had been defeated by the three-headed monster and was heading towards the island, if not already there.

In fact, the monster was already at the gates, so to speak, and was throwing fireballs to incinerate the trees in an attempt to destroy whatever cover Rodan sought. A forest fire had already begun to engulf the island and King Ghidorah was wading through the blaze, each head looking this way and that, scanning telepathically for his prey. That was what Rodan wanted. Like some giant Killdeer feigning injury to distract predators from its nest, Rodan was intentionally luring King Ghidorah to himself. The difference, however, between Rodan and a Killdeer was that the injury was very real.

He had folded his torn and broken wings as he normally did and placed his forelimbs down to the ground to walk on all fours like a bat. Limping along through the heat and smoke, his blood-drenched wings pointing upwards, he tried to keep a low profile; he didn't want King Ghidorah to find him too soon. Despite his broken wings, he kept dragging himself along, ignoring the pain and pushing though the agony. That was when he slipped on his slick bloody knuckles and fell, making a crater and smashing an entire grove of trees doing so. Rodan kept silent but the thud was heard across island, now completely aflame. With that an evil, sadistic grins spread across King Ghidorah's faces; he knew where his quarry was.

By know the whole island was in flames and Rodan, with broken bones and raw flayed flesh, knew that the end was nigh. Now surrounded in a blazing ring fire and smoke, he heard the mad scream of the Prince of Skyllans cut through the sooty haze. Colored red by the flames, King Ghidorah burst through the ring to finish it. Did he expect to find some pleas for mercy, some cowering wreck? If he did so he would not find it there because no sooner did he find Rodan that Rodan attacked.

The pterodactyl hurled himself at the demon in a ferocious barrage of bites and claw strikes. King Ghidorah was staggered by the sheer savagery of the attack and wound after wound quickly began to appear on his body. King Ghidorah hurled his necks against Rodan to throw him aside and while it worked—the mate of Fire Radon was thrown against flaming boulders—the heads of the three-headed monster were bleeding from the spines that covered his foe's chest and belly.

Fueled by his hate, King Ghidorah outer heads fired their Gravity Beams to blast Rodan's wings to bits. As the beams found their marks, the monster screamed as his skin wings were torn apart into bloody shreds. With the force of gravity gone wild tearing his flesh to pieces and the heat of the beams roasting the Supersaur alive, the beast was left in a sorry state. When it was done, poor Rodan was left smoking and blackened and burned, sores and blisters covered his body and blood bubbled up from his beak.

But saddest of all, his wings were no more. Descended as he was from the pterodactyls, his wings were, or had been, made up of skin stretched between a long outer finger and the rest of his body. Now the long wing fingers that gave his forebears their name were broken in every place and half of the right wing finger was torn completely off, showing the bone. The skin that made up his wings was now left as raw, burnt, bloody sheets of flesh on the ground. In a perverse irony, the blood that was already pooling on the ground around him to make a set of mock wings. It was a sad fate for one who once graced the firmament and touched the welkin.

And yet King Ghidorah was not done with the one time Lord of the sky. Twin tails twitching and golden scales glistening, the Prince of Skyllans strode towards his fallen foe and brought a golden foot crashing down on the burnt chest of him. King Ghidorah ignored the pain he drew in from the spines and instead drew out from himself his necrotic Taint to increase the fallen one's agony tenfold. As blood and screams came from Rodan's beak, one would think that that the demon sought to extract the location of the nest from his foe but it was not so.

This torture was solely for his own pleasure; he had other, more effective ways of getting information. King Ghidorah's cancerous thoughts began to filter into Rodan's mind. The powers that the three-headed monster had wielded before the battles against Apophis was great but after that day he had wielded the power he had stolen from Apophis and could now steal whatever thoughts he chose. He sought the location of the nest so that he might kill the babes held therein for that would be sinful and to bring forth sin was why the demon lived. He probed the mind of his fallen foe and found himself stonewalled because Rodan kept these thoughts from him.

The fool, did the mate of Radon think that he could keep such thoughts hidden from him? He thought he could resist? That was when he received his answer from the mate of Radon in the form of a blood red psychic scream. Rodan would indeed resist. He dared King Ghidorah to do his worst for he would resist until his mind was in ruins! At that the skyllan took a step back and froze. His heads looked at the dying Supersaur before him; if he were indeed to "resist until his mind was in ruins," how then would he learn where the nest lay?

It seemed that King Ghidorah was in a no-win situation and that there was nothing he could do. But at that he decided to destroy his foe's mind anyway and then burn the island until it and the nest would have to be no more. King Ghidorah's six eyes began to glow red and Rodan immediately went into epileptic spasms as his brain was destroyed from the inside out.

However, the three-headed monster ceased his mental torture and turned from Rodan and the inferno that surrounded them when he heard a harpy's shriek coming from the sky. Radon was coming to her mate's rescue and fired a Uranium Heat Beam at their enemy. It struck its mark and hit the King of Terror for he had not had time to raise his shield. Unrelenting in her attack, the injured, battle weary Fire Radon fired again in a constant, searing beam at her foe but soon enough the demon had raised his energy shield and the beam was deflected. King Ghidorah returned fire soon enough but the mate of Rodan dodged back and forth through the sky and not one beam hit. Rodan himself cawed to her, as if screaming at her to leave and save herself but she would not do so. She would leave him to perish alone when he had chosen to die with her on the mountain.

With that, Fire Radon dove at her foe as fast as she could and slashed his side with her wings and talons. King Ghidorah was staggered and steadied himself with his tails but at that instant, his foe flapped her bloodstained wings to create winds to cast him back. With hurricane winds pushing him back, the Prince of Skyllans used all his strength and faced his foe. Glowing gold as he did so, he fired full force Gravity Beams from all three heads at his foe and those beams struck home.

However, when he did that it was not to blast her apart as it would seem. Instead, Radon was held in a tractor beam, levitated above the ground at King Ghidorah's whim. Paralyzed by the beams that came from the demon's mouths the mate of Rodan was helpless, despite all her efforts to break free. On seeing that, that was when the torture began. King Ghidorah brought his head and thus the beams that held Radon prisoner back and then he brought them and Radon crashing down on the island sands. Again and again he did it, first crashing to the ground and then to the sides and every way it could go. Again and again her bones were broken and crushed and organs were ruptured. Again and again until poor Radon was made a broken, bruised, bleeding wreck.

With one final flourish, King Ghidorah cast her victim atop her mate, one broken body atop the other. It was the day at Mt. Aso all over again for both faced death and neither would abandon the other to save itself. Such was their love. Neither able nor willing to escape Fire Radon scooped up the body of little love in her wings and placed his broken head on her breast. When King Ghidorah had callously thrown her atop him, the fall had extinguished the last bit of life in him. He was dead.

Radon looked to King Ghidorah as his body shone gold and wings glowed scarlet. She knew what was coming and for the last time placed her beak next to her mate's and knew that wherever he was, she would be with him soon.

An hour later King Ghidorah was hovering in the air above Kaula, his wings barely moving and motionless in the air as if he were a puppet on strings. Below him, the once green jewel was a roiling cauldron of fire and smoke; it seemed a bubbling mass of red against the blue of the sea. Thick black smoke rose like a black tower into the heavens and blotted out the once fair isle. Rodan and Radon had been atomized; there was not a trace of them left in this reality but yet there was the question of the nest. In the end King Ghidorah knew not where the egg was nor did he even care. If it did survive, if it had ever even existed, he would slay the child contained therein when the time would come, just as he had slain its parents and grandparent.

The Prince of Skyllans was pleased with his efforts for much suffering had been caused this day and there was still so much more pain and chaos and madness to be wrought upon the land. But where to go; where was there suffering for him to cause? He knew not yet that was when he heard it. It cut through him and it was it a sweet sensation that he felt across his every fiber. What was this fine, sweet thing that he sensed?

King Ghidorah was an energy absorber and so he knew that for something to attract him like this it would have to be on the electromagnetic spectrum. He stretched his senses and felt what it was. It was a plasma reactor! Of all the things it could have been, King Ghidorah would have never suspected that. He had seen and destroyed worlds a thousand years more advanced technologically than Earth—his own birth world had been the Atlantis of the galaxy before he destroyed it—and had thus not expected something like a plasma reactor from the ignorant backwards race on this planet.

King Ghidorah quickly flew up into orbit to see for himself what was happening. He was already able to see the curvature of the Earth and ice had begun to form on his body when he saw what it was. It was a continent to the east of the island he had just ravaged and at the center of it was the plasma reactor that he had sensed. From that high altitude where he was, King Ghidorah was able to see that much of the central part of the land-mass was untouched. Strange, he had attacked the lands north of it, where he had fought the wolf Lupis, and south of it, where he had been denied final victory over its greatest city because of a holy power far greater than his own.

King Ghidorah saw that this land that stretched from sea to shining sea had somehow been spared his wrath thus far. Well now he would just have to correct that now wouldn't he?

Nick was asleep in his unmade bed. It was already late in the morning but he was still snoring away. However, a powerful movement underneath his houseboat interrupted that sleep. He woke up with a start, looking around and unsure of anything. Writing it off as the motion of the ocean, he tried to go back to sleep when he heard a loud, shrill, though muffled, ring. The ring sounded again and he groggily opened his eyes. His eyes open, he at first he tried to ignore it and pretended to go back to sleep, for his own sake. It rang again and an ugly look came across his face.

Knowing that he would get no rest until he turned the telephone off, he got off his bed in his pajamas and looked through the pile of clothes for his cell phone. He found it but decided to answer it and curse at the other person just for ruining his sleep. He turned it on and said, "Yeah who is it?"

He got the answer as to who it was. "…What?" He laughed. "Oh its you Juan! Aw hell, I was gonna be all talking smack and stuff! How you been buddy?"

Juan said that he was alright; he'd just gone to see a movie. For the most part he just wanted to see how his buddy was doing. "Me? Oh, I'm alright I guess." Nick yawned and was asked what time was it in Hawaii. "Oh it's eleven and before you ask I was up late last night… Oh I was watching anime… It was Big-O, I think I told you about it already, it's the one with the giant robot."

Juan asked what was it like being on a houseboat. "Oh its kinda cool, just pick up and go where I want. Don't gotta put up wit' no punks foo' huh that right!" He laughed at his little joke and Juan asked his friend where he was. "I don' know, I guess I'm somewhere in the Pacific. Normally I keep the boat in Pearl Harbor. Jus' felt like taking the boat for a spin. So how's the fanfic going? …You're putting me in it? …Cool."

Nick and Juan kept talking for awhile about every topic under the sun, everything from the film "Kill Bill," to whether or not it would have been Jewish matzo bread that Jesus used at the Last Supper. They kept talking for a good long time before they finally hung up. Yawning, Nick decided that he should get up out of bed and went to the ship's kitchen to get water. He poured himself a glass and walked outside.

He winced at the brightness of the sun and his eyes slightly hurt. He stayed underneath the tarp where there was some shade and took a drink. The water was good, he thought. He looked out to the vast blue sea and towards the island in the distance. That was when his boat trembled again. What was it?

He got his answer when Godzilla, ever so slowly, lifted his head from out of the water. Nick was seeing it from his houseboat and he took a sip of water. Nick saw that only the upper half of Godzilla's head was visible; the rest of the monster was underwater. A head the size of an elephant looked towards the houseboat, dead on. However, the head did not move; the eyes glanced one way and then the other yet that was all. That was when the eyes caught sight of the human; when that happened, nictating membranes peeled back and the pupils they concealed they narrowed.

As for the human, Nick, he just stood there, utterly concerned. He groggily returned Godzilla's gaze. He then yawned and disappeared into the boat for some more sleep. The human would cause him no harm? Then Godzilla would return the favor. After all, he had more important things to do such as destroying King Ghidorah and to that end he had managed to follow his enemy to this land. Godzilla turned his head back and forth and saw an island in the distance. The King of the Monsters then submerged his head and soon only a ripple and bubbles marked that he had been there. Back underwater, he began swimming through the waves, his tail propelling him forwards. He would go there to that island that the human parasites called Oahu and find King Ghidorah.

Godzilla did not find King Ghidorah on the island of Oahu though he did find a tremendous aerial and naval battle. Godzilla did not know it but the location where he surfaced was Pearl Harbor Naval Base, home of America's Pacific Fleet. No, Godzilla did not know this, he only knew that humans were there and they were opening fire upon him and that he returned force in kind. The humans, of course, knew exactly was going on.

Although the military men there had been trained to handle monsters because of the proximity of the Rodans and Pele, they were in no way able to deal with Godzilla himself. He had swum up through the lochs and, in a disturbing similarity, was not detected until it was too late. He was already past Bishop Point when human forces finally saw him but it wasn't until he made landfall at Ford Island that the monster was greeted with the full force of the fleet. The force of the entire navy was brought to bear against him and destroyers and aircraft carriers and more attacked with everything they had yet it wasn't enough. Like that awful day on December 7th, 1941, the defenders just weren't ready and then as now, this lack of preparedness cost them dearly.

For years, it had been said that the shimmering oil that seeped from the sunken ship, Arizona, was in fact the tears of all those who had died that day. It was a most appropriate story because by the end of this day, many people were indeed crying. Pearl Harbor was reduced to flaming ruins that served no purpose but that of being funeral pyres for the dead. The thick, black, smoke blotted out the sun and the sky and the ground was slick with the blood of the slain. Everything was destroyed and everyone was dead. Flame, wreckage, blood, and bodies were all everywhere. All who saw this knew it would be, "a date which will live in infamy."

As for the rest of the United States, it was sent reeling by this horrible news. Yet for however terrible it was, it was but a prelude as to what was soon to happen. The United States had thus far been spared the wrath of both Godzilla and King Ghidorah but that would change because of all the nations to suffer the attentions of these two monsters, the United States would ultimately go on to suffer the most. It had tried to stay out of them as long as possible but at long last the United States of America was to fight in the Monster Wars.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Eleven

It was night and Inagos was lying atop the hive under the starry sky on his side as he ate a grim feast. Holding his meal between his forelimbs, he was slurping the pulp out from a hollowed out cranium of one of his minions; it had been bought to him by the deathwatch beetles, the undertakers of the Swarm. When he was done slurping out the brain, he crunched the exoskeleton's skull between his mandibles the way a human would crunch a stick of celery. On finishing his meal, he turned his multifaceted eyes down over the edge of the Hive at the empire he had forged with blood and sweat and tears but was unmoved.

Normally he would feel a certain pride at seeing the mounds and the barren soil illuminated by the moonlight and shining with the light that so many fireflies the size of helicopter gun ships cast onto the ground. Indeed, his empire extended to the horizon, which was quite a distance considering the skyscraper-sized hive. Normally the Locust King would feel a great pride, but not this night.

Perhaps sensing what was on her surrogate's mind, the tiny maggot-like Meganuron wiggled towards him and pushed her harsh exoskeleton against his bloated side. Inagos turned his insect head towards her and brushed his forelimbs against her back; he wanted to keep her from the sheer drop that the edge had. However, he let her come because she was always there when he needed her to give hope. But as Inagos turned his head towards the moon, he knew that more than hope would be needed.

Over the previous weeks the humans had been growing increasingly lax in their efforts to contain him and his Swarm; that worried him. Strange wasn't it? If anything, a giant monster would think that to see the end of the humans or their persecution would be a good thing and yet he was worried. It was the same uncertainty he had felt when, months ago, he had had the nightmare of the three-headed monster.

Confused, all Inagos could remember was the skirmish earlier that day had ended before it had begun. A band of man sized cockroaches had been looking across the border that the humans had made to confine them when a skirmish had erupted between them and the humans. The humans killed so many with their weapons that spat stingers that, despite the cockroach scout's best efforts, it seemed as if the humans were going to win. The insects had had to beat a retreat but, strangely enough, the humans made no effort to pursue. Normally the humans would give chase until every last one was dead yet that was not the case that day. The humans didn't even bother to take the bodies of the slain Swarm children as they normally did. (That was where Inagos' meal came from.)

Reports from the tiny locusts that flew about him every day showed Inagos why. With their eyes as his eyes and their ears as his ears, he knew that the humans that patrolled the borders of the land were decreasing by the day. What few humans that were left were not fit to be proud soldiers but were on par with mere foragers, according to the thoughts of colonial insects. It should indeed be a day for celebration for all the Swarm.

And yet the Locust King was worried. By the pact he struck with the Great Tyrannosaur himself, why would the humans just go away? Was this some trap for the Swarm? Was there some greater threat for the humans to face? That was when Inagos froze; he bolted upright on his four hind limbs and, in panic, looked around.

Though the humans had opposed him and had defeated him in the Swarm Wars decades ago, Inagos did not hate the humans. They did not wish for their foodstuffs—or themselves—to be eaten; the Locust King could respect that. Indeed, he even felt an admiration for the order they had; their hives and especially their armies were well organized. If an enemy could indeed be invading the humans' territories or attacking their hives, what was this enemy like? What could be so terrible that it even exceeded the wrath of the Swarm to take away the humans that held the Swarm at bay?

That was when Inagos remembered the nightmare he had had about the three-headed monster. He had thought about that mere moments earlier but now a new thought entered the colossal insect's mind. What if the nightmare had not been a nightmare but a prophecy? What if the three-headed monster was coming? He than recalled how once he had skirted the borders of what the humans called Area 51 looking to eat the nourishing radiation and toxic waste that was there and had seen minds like the one he had seen in his nightmares. Could it be that the monster that would come was one of them but a demon and a prince of demons? Inagos felt his spirit quake and was sore afraid at the horrid thought.

The ugly, yet worried, little insect that was Meganuron looked to her father and was worried. She had always looked up to him as a model of strength but what was happening? All she knew was that if it could frighten him then it could certainly frighten her.

The United States of America was a mighty nation; it was a proud nation. America had begun with high ideals and had sought to make a new land out of an unknown continent. With hard work and determination it went from being a backward, forgotten country to a world power. After it led its fellow Allies to save the world from the forces of evil in WWII it became a superpower. For many years it had even enjoyed the status of being "the greatest nation on Earth" but it would know that, as the saying goes, the bigger they are the harder they fall. And oh how future generations would say how the mighty had fallen.

What had happened? What had happened was invasion. Part of America's pride stemmed from the fact that it rarely had suffered such indignity-the mighty seas on both sides of the nation had been discouragement enough for many years. In fact, the only direct territorial invasion the US had faced in the entire twentieth century was the December 7th, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the US wrought terrible vengeance with the August 6th, 1945, nuclear annihilation of Hiroshima. Perhaps, then, it was meant to be that Godzilla, the atomic terror of Japan—which had since been proven to have been created by an American H-bomb—, wreak havoc on Pearl Harbor and begin the chaos. Yet even if the event that inaugurated it were neither tragic irony nor poetic justice, the war that followed soon after was the likes of which that brought the once mightiest nation on Earth to its knees.

The Civil War had been the last war that the US had ever fought on its own soil. With the exception of the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, America had never had to fight an outside power for its freedom or its life. America could have stayed out of all the other wars it had fought if it had so chosen. But as America fought King Ghidorah it found itself fighting not for politics or for land but one of survival. It was unlike other wars America had fought because now it was its towns being burned, its civilians being killed, its soil was being fought over and bled upon, its existence in danger. For the first time in almost a hundred fifty years, it was the Americans turn to know what it meant to wake up and be afraid, to know the true horrors of war, to know for themselves the pain, the fear, the death.

All this suffering did King Ghidorah cause yet he was almost alone in his rampage. Though determined to have his vengeance, Godzilla was wary in how he pursued his hated enemy across the land as if wishing to vent his hatred on King Ghidorah alone. Even so, when rage filled the King of the Monsters he would destroy whatever stood in his path to find the Prince of Skyllans and God help any who stood against him. Either by Godzilla or King Ghidorah or in their battles of Biblical proportions, America suffered again and again as it never thought it would, or could. City after city fell to the demon's wrath and it seemed as if the madness would have no end.

Soon battle cries such as "Remember the Alamo" or "Remember Pearl Harbor" served not to instill the desire to fight but served only as a reminder of how futile the battle against King Ghidorah really was. As proof, those cries were quickly joined by sad and halfhearted cries of remembering San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Boston, Phoenix, Detroit, and scores of others. There was nothing to remember save how in moments those cities were completely destroyed when a three-headed monster fell from the heavens and made the sky rain fire.

Facing as it did such a monster, it was rather ironic that America had proclaimed itself the monster fighting capital of the world for the first half of the twentieth century. The US had dealt with King Kong and later the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms easily enough. The giant ants? America said, "We got Them good." Such paltry successes went to America's head, regardless of what the brave men that fought in the sewers of Los Angeles against them asked Dr. Medford. If these giant ants came as a result of the first atomic bomb, then what about all the bombs exploded since then?

It was when the Age of Monsters truly began with the advent of Godzilla, that the Americans soon saw how right those words were and how they were oh so wrong to boast of their "victories." It was because when the giants among the monsters came, that weak and mortal men learned just how small they really were. This lesson was learned the hard way when Inagos & his Swam came, the Swarm of which Medford's ants were just the beginning. Not that it could compare to the havoc wrought by King Ghidorah.

Indeed, the self-proclaimed strongest army in the history of the world was routed and humiliated at every turn by the demon. Despite all their efforts, the armed forces of the US were utterly helpless and could feel naught but a child's impotent rage at how they were unable to protect the land that they so loved. Facing King Ghidorah, the CONUS (Continental United States) armies of the US were able to guard neither their land nor its people. Want and fear stalked every household, every family, and there was not one person in the continental United States who wouldn't lose a loved one in the American campaign of the Monster Wars. What was to come was the darkest hour that the country ever faced and one that would change it forever. With King Ghidorah there, America would be destroyed. It was only a matter of time.

People watching United World Television News' Godzilla Watch Network tuned in to see Connie Matsu in the gym of a Chicago YMCA that had been remade as an emergency relief shelter. They tuned in to see her interviewing Steven Martin whom had been helping to coordinate relief efforts in the area ever since it had been attacked—after all, Chicago was his hometown. Behind them both, people could see the wounded being shuttled back & forth and doctors doing what they could. For those who remembered it was rather ironic, yet appropriate, that Martin be there—and other places all through the Monster Wars—helping the injured when he had almost died in an emergency hospital years ago in a similar disaster. He had been working for hours but was now taking a break to give his words.

On seeing that the commercial break was over, Miss Matsu, who was increasingly being considered an heir to the reporting that Martin had given the world, more so than any others, turned towards the camera. "We're back. Hello everyone. For those of you who are just joining us I'm here in what remains of Chicago with renowned ex-reporter, Steven Martin. As you might know, Mr. Martin was, for many years, United World News finest reporter and specialized in getting the word out on giant monsters, especially Godzilla. He has agreed to grant us an interview. Now we continue.

"Mr. Martin, where were you when King Ghidorah attacked this morning?"

"Well Miss Matsu I was at this very Young Men's Christian Association speaking to the children taking swimming lessons. I was telling them to do their part in the Monster Wars when someone came in yelling that King Ghidorah had been sighted and had already destroyed the Sears Tower. He came in saying that we had to seek shelter because King Ghidorah was coming in our direction. Fortunately for all of us, this building's basement runs deep and it provided at least some protection. I have been here ever since doing what I could to help."

"Mr. Martin, in your days, you were there to see Godzilla and other giant monsters attack various cities. How does what King Ghidorah did to Chicago compare?"

"It was in many ways very different Miss Matsu. For years, kaijuologists have theorized that the larger monsters have human or near human level intelligence. Psychics in G-Force have confirmed that and that they have self-awareness along with individual personalities. I was able to see just how individual in how the two monsters were very different in why they attacked.

"When Godzilla first attacked Tokyo he did it out of pure hatred, he did it out of anger towards the human race. As to why, the Elias and Miki Segeusa say that Tokyo had been his territory eons ago and that he believes we stole it, not unlike how the Rhedosaurus went to New York one year before thinking that it was its old territory. Yet despite the hate that might propel him to do such things, Godzilla takes no pleasure in the destruction he causes. As for King Ghidorah, on the other hand, he does do it out of pleasure. He actually seems to enjoy causing suffering and inflicting pain on others.

"This was seen in their mode of attack. When Godzilla goes to Tokyo, he seems determined to destroy the city itself; although he has no love for humans, they are not his target. King Ghidorah, on the other hand, seems to deliberately seek out humans to kill. Although he does seem to enjoy destroying cities he does it primarily to claim still more victims. In fact, the only word to describe King Ghidorah is evil."

Matsu nodded. "I see. Do you have any words concerning Godzilla as he follows King Ghidorah across the United States? Do you think he will come to this city?"

"I seriously doubt that he will come through Chicago. King Ghidorah left here hours ago; by now Godzilla will have picked up the scent leading elsewhere. As for Godzilla himself, just before the Monster Wars were declared, Miss Seguesa said in a conference if it could be possible to take advantage of Godzilla's hatred against King Ghidorah and use him to destroy that which is enemy to us both. Commander Aso responded that such a plan of action would only aggravate the situation and that has been the official stance of UNGCC ever since."

Martin cleared his throat. "If it weren't so, if we were just able to join forces with each other, then the situation would be far different and we might even have a way of immediately winning the Monster Wars. Yet its not so and while the Guardian Monsters have been a tremendous help in combating King Ghidorah through the USA, they're not nearly enough. They weren't even able to defeat King Ghidorah in their adult forms and have much less chance of doing so in their larval forms. Godzilla is the only monster that could defeat King Ghidorah and we're now trying to destroy the one thing that might be able to save us. This is helped in no small part by the current administration of the US that wastes its time trying to fight the lesser of two evils than on saving the nation. I only hope that a way of saving the world is soon found or we are all lost.

"Do you have any more questions Miss Matsu?"

She shook her head. "No Mr. Martin, that's all. I hope you make it out alright as do your charges."

Martin nodded and shook her hand. "Thank you and I hope you have better luck at surviving your monster stories than I almost didn't."

Matsu smirked as she remembered how people had begun comparing her to Martin with her role in the Monster Wars. "Well then, may your monster reporting luck not rub off on me Mr. Martin." She turned away towards the camera and said, "This is Connie Matsu, live from Chicago, Illinois. Back to you at the studio." 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

In New Mexico, King Ghidorah had made landfall and was already decimating the ranks of the Swarm. Wave after wave of insects was sent against him but, despite their most valiant efforts, they were all destroyed. Some were splattered underneath his heel, and some were exploded by his Gravity Beams, and some were electrocuted by his Crimson Lightning. They crawled over him like maggots to bite and tear with no heed to their own lives. The battle was a huge blur with King Ghidorah seemingly everywhere at once, biting and blasting and clawing. With his Fear driving his foes into madness and destroying all semblance of order, it was all too easy to pick them apart like the maggots they literally were.

That was when he caught sight of them, the first true challenge to be faced on this field of battle; on catching sight of them, the Prince of Skyllans tore this way and that to throw his captors away from him. Then with a mighty leap he launched himself skywards to see his attackers for himself. From far away he beheld the buzzing swarm of hundreds of giant house sized hornets. Savage and cruel, they were armed to the teeth and were ready to deal death from above. King Ghidorah welcomed the sight of the proud and foolhardy flying to their doom yet he felt his mind drift back to when he battled the minions of Apophis in the land of Egypt. Then as before, the skyllan's cancerous mind sensed that another intelligence was directing his foes in their ways of battle. He would slaughter the flying monsters to see for himself just how this intelligence that guided them operated.

The colossal hornets moved in aggressively and began to rapidly fire hundreds of their stingers like bullets from a machine gun. King Ghidorah wasn't nearly fast enough to dodge it and was hit over and over by the unending fire. Working like armor piercing missiles, they imbedded themselves deeply and exploded inside the demon's flesh to release their payload of acid. Enraged, King Ghidorah let his hate give him strength and fired his Gravity Beams at his foes yet they were too quick and dodged the second they saw him demon his necks to aim. They regrouped and began to fly around him in a holding pattern, firing their stingers all the while.

King Ghidorah bit this way and that, firing with his Gravity Beams again and again but his foes were too many to be all destroyed and too small, relatively, to be fired upon. Everywhere the hornets flew firing their weapons everywhere they could yet they did not touch him. Their foe did not know it but Inagos' scouts had seen those who'd perished by the demon's necrotic touch. They were careful to fight from a distance.

They did that because they knew their foe and for it, no matter how many hornets King Ghidorah was lucky enough to destroy there were still hundreds more. The skyllan's shield could only guard against energy assaults while his regenerative abilities were quickly being taxed to the limit. There seemed nothing he could do. Was this the end for the demon, was it all over? Far from it.

King Ghidorah simultaneously released a scatter shot burst of Crimson Lightning and electrified his skin. Those that had been firing their stingers pointblank were close enough to be electrocuted while those from far off reeled in pain and fell to earth. Those among the hornets that survived were stubborn and yet remained; such foolhardiness was to be their downfall because even as they turned around for another assault, King Ghidorah beat his wings and made a hurricane force wind to blow them away. While the hornets were blown hither and yon the Prince of Skyllans opened his maws and from all three shot out balls of fire that quickly incinerated them into so much ash.

The ash drifted to the ground in lazy black swirls soon enough and those that opposed him were dead. With the powers he had stolen from Apophis he had seen their thoughts and knew where their master was; he need only fly there and destroy the leader. It was not to be the African battles once more for these would end quickly though the deaths would be just as painful.

As King Ghidorah shot through the skies like a lightning bolt, another though surged through him. While invading the minds of his foes as they died, he had found someone who hated the leader and who would seek him destroyed. With her on his side, victory would be assured. Her name? Shiigan.

Don and Lisa were in New Orleans's Jackson Square, taking in the sights. Though they'd wanted to visit the place for years, this was their first visit to the famous city. They'd already eaten the crawdads and cornbread and other southern foods. They'd taken in the sights that had no mention of slavery and instead mentioned how humble slaves were greatful for the protection of brave gray clad soldiers in the War Between the States. It had all been quite interesting. Now the pair was content to just walk along and take pictures of the beautiful Spanish buildings of the French Quarter.

The pair was admiring the lacy iron grillwork, looking at the trolleys, and listening to the jazz. It was a breathtaking mixture of old and new and they loved it. Lisa especially liked the vacation; it was a relief from all the privations that she and her husband had had to endure since the Monster Wars came to the US. It was becoming harder every day to imagine that America was the land of plenty with how she and Don had had to put up with powdered milk and canned foods for weeks. They had to put up with that and with the gas rationing, and the meat rationing, and the sugar rationing, (water rationing too in their home state of California since King Ghidorah had destroyed the Shasta and Hoover Dams.) There was also the scrap metal collecting, and the growing of Victory Gardens, not to mention how hard it had been just to go anywhere since martial law had been imposed—sure took Emmerich long enough to get things n gear.

As she walked, Lisa grimly mused that this had to have been how folks on the American home front felt during World War II. That or more accurately the British home front because it hadn't been the US fighting a war for survival that time. It was strange comparing the Monster Wars to "the Big One." Back then, America sought to avenge how it was "suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan," and to free the tens of millions enslaved by the swastika.

Back then, the US had wanted to defeat Japan for its treachery and the Nazis for their evil but that wasn't the case now. King Ghidorah was just some mindless monster; that he had to be stopped was true but wanting to punish him was as pointless as wanting to punish a hurricane for the damage it causes (or so they thought). There was neither righteous wrath that sought to vanquish evil nor any desire to fight outside mere survival. It was really quite pitiful and was in no way helped by how the current president was no Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Reflecting on the national, nay, global crisis, Lisa almost felt guilty that she and her husband could be enjoying themselves while there was so much suffering all around them. She walked past a shop and saw in the window a silver star; it showed that someone dear to the shop owner was serving in the armed forces. It was next to a gold star and that showed that someone dear to that family had died. On seeing it, Lisa was reminded just how much pain there was. Her friend at work had just lost an uncle to King Ghidorah, how long would it be before she lost someone too?

That was when they saw the Le Petit Theater and Don knew he just had to take a picture of it. When he checked the camera, however, he saw that it had run out of film.

Don turned to his wife and asked, "Honey, do you have any more film?"

For a minute, Lisa just looked at her husband in shock at his seeming shallowness. After a while, she just sighed in resignation. "Yeah, I think I do." Stopping in the sidewalk, she removed her backpack and begun rummaging through it, disregarding the crowd that milled about them. She checked this way and that and finally found the roll she had been looking for.

Lisa gave it to her husband and said "Don, I think that was our last one. After this we should go to that store we passed a while back and get some more."

She was about to say that she saw a store just up ahead when she was cut off by a sound truck that drove past them on the cobblestone streets. They heard it blare out the same words repeatedly. "ATTENETION, ATTENTION, THE US BATTLESHIP MONTANA SIGHTED GODZILLA JUST MOMENTS AGO HEADED TOWARDS THE GULF COAST OF THE UNITED STATES. HE WILL ARRIVE IN NEW ORLEANS IN A MATTER OF HOURS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. YOU MUST EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."

Stunned at this, Don and Lisa looked at each other. They continued listening to the sound truck and were told to go to designated areas where they would be taken to safety. Everyone that heard was afraid and many people began running wherever they could. Lisa asked her husband, "Honey, you don't really think that… that… THING is coming here, do you?"

He shook his head. "I heard about this on the radio this morning. It was said that Godzilla might come here. Might. They said he could pop up here or in Florida or maybe not at all. Forget about it Lisa. I bet you that in two seconds they'll cal it off and say that he's not coming at all. Heck, the odds of it coming here are a thousand to—"

Fate having been sufficiently dared, everyone, Don and Lisa included, froze at the tremendous roar that shook the entire city. It was a feral gong like roar so loud that people's ears hurt and even bled. The roar shook the city again, louder and longer this time. Most everyone in Jackson Square turned southeast to where they heard the roar. They all turned less than a quarter of a mile towards the mighty Mississippi River that flowed through the city of New Orleans and saw a black mountain of flesh and bone arise from the brown muddy waters.

Her face a grimace of fear and anger, Lisa struck her husband's shoulder. "Darn it Don, you jinxed this!"

In the Swarm Hive, the mantis monster Shiigan was taking the grub daughter of Inagos through the dark, dirty, subterranean tunnels under the Hive. A horrible monster had been seen and it seemed determined to wage total war against the whole of the Swarm and even from that deep, the ground shook from the demon's onslaught. For that, Inagos had instructed his heir to be taken to safety in the vast tunnels under the ground where the egg laying insect queens were as well.

Now she was doing just that, taking little Meganulon to safety. Yet as Shiigan crouched low to the ground and held the pulpy squirming grub between her scythes, she imagined how easy it would be to just kill her. Even now, the one time ruler of the Kamakuras still hated Inagos for the defeat she suffered and vainly plotted against him. That was when she stopped and realized why not?

Shiigan stopped and for the first time realized that he had come. It was the destroyer of worlds whom she had felt; it was the three-headed monster. Though she didn't know it, King Ghidorah's wicked, cancerous thoughts were polluting her mind and making her think the very darkest thoughts that it could. With this madness, she knew at that moment, who needed Inagos! With great and terrible callousness, Shiigan lifted the squirming grub up above her head and threw it to the ground. Whatever the species, babies are babies and the child screamed and wept at this.

Though weak and crippled by the beatings she received daily from the Locust King, Shiigan should have the power to kill a baby. She raised her broken scythe hand and tried to strike Meganulon but the baby squirmed away. The brutal scene repeated itself again and again yet the maggot child child fearfully squirmed away each time. Soon enough, the babe could do no more and the cripple would slay it. The exhausted Meganulon could move no more and she saw Shiigan raise her scythe for the final blow; it was all over. She looked to the squirming thing and remembered its mother that defied her in the past. She would punish the daughter for the sins of the mother and—!

That was when she knew she couldn't. It wasn't that she felt any pangs of remorse at the idea but it was that Shiigan felt the voice saying that the child was unimportant. There were more important things to do. Hurling one last snarl at baby Meganulon, Shiigan strode off to meet her destiny.

As for Godzilla at that moment, he strode back and forth past the Spanish buildings of the French Quarter, casually destroying them with each step. With each movement of his body, more and more priceless buildings that recorded the history of the ages became one with the ages. The Presbytre, once a famous courthouse; the Cabildo which one time was the seat of Spanish power; and the Le Petit Theater (which Don had so wanted to take a picture of) were all stamped flat. That the King of the Monsters meant no malice in the destruction he caused, that "it wasn't personal," was small consolation to the terrified and panicked people that called the city home and had revered those buildings. But what was going to happen next was indeed something to offer consolation or at least it would have been if not for what happened right after it.

Already out of the French Quarter, Godzilla looked to the vast megalopolis in which he was and saw that his foe was not there but to the west. The King of the Monsters had no quarrel with these humans; he would leave them be. After all, he had bigger to fish to obliterate from existence. So with that thought he turned back towards the Mississippi River. He would take the vast waterway west until it curved back and took him into the Gulf again; from there he would go until he made landfall where it ended.

But just as he turned his back to face the water, he felt something blast him from behind. In shock more than anything else, Godzilla looked back and saw a gleaming, metal giant come to do battle. It was one of the humans' robots and was piloted by humans and was ready to fight. Godzilla could see that it would be the first human shaped giant robot that he had had to face since Angela those years ago and that it was of an entirely different style. As its wings retracted into its gray metal legs and it lowered itself to the ground in a standing position the King of the Monsters was able to truly appreciate the difference of style.

Its silver and blue trim body was made up entirely of edges and corners and was box shaped more than anything else. On its back was a buzz saw like thing and there was a tail next to the legs. Its impossibly stubby, massive legs were placed atop tank treads and the upper body was small in comparison. As for the upper body, the arms ended in cone shaped weapon pods and the narrow pinhead sported a drill nose reminiscent of the machine's Mysterian namesake. The name of the machine was MOGUERA—Mobile Operations Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aerotype.

Never one to shrink from battle, Godzilla saw his foe and knew the battle was on. He lowered his head and charged the steel colossus in a head but to knock it down but was sent flying backwards by the fire from the Plasma Laser Guns situated in the robots eyes. From his place on the ground, the saurian immediately moved his head and fired his Atomic Ray but the MOGUERA lifted its arms and used them to block. Godzilla scrambled upwards and let his silver spines glow fiercely as he loosed his stronger Red Spiral Ray, which struck home on the robot.

Inside said robot, the crew endured the lurching of the machine and the shower of sparks that rained down. Lieutenant Santos checked his screen and sighed in relief as he saw that mechanical integrity still held. "We're still good to go men. Tactical attack C-13!"

Glen and Fuji nodded in unison. "Right!"

As per their orders, Glen made the robot go full speed ahead on tanks treads even as Fuji fired the chest mounted Plasma Laser Cannon. It struck the King of the Monsters with full force and left his hide blistered and peeled yet even as that happened he dropped to the ground to do a sweeping tail whip. Glen saw this and had MOGUERA leap up and stomp down on the beast's tail. Infuriated at the pain of that and the PLC as it back shot him, Godzilla hurled his body forward and sent the machine sending backwards.

The robot suffered even more as the King of the Monsters clubbed it with his tail to break it apart like an egg. He would break this monument to man's hubris apart like the filth it was and show the no force men could bring against him could win! As the men inside cursed their luck, their commander ordered the deployment of Spiral Grenade Missiles and it was done. Godzilla howled in pain as the shells shot out from their weapon pods and drilled into his skin and exploded underneath but nonetheless picked up the MOGUERA by the neck and, after hoisting the machine over his head, hurled it in the direction of Louis Armstrong Park. There would be nothing there to get in the way of their battle and there would be no risk of innocents in danger there.

Making the Earth tremble as he did so, Godzilla went to where his enemy was and waited cautiously to see if the fight was over. The robot seemingly exploded upwards and the spread legs of the machine struck out in all directions as the lower body spun independently over the upper body which was on the ground on a handstand. Godzilla felt his blood drawn at this and by the time he countered MOGUERA was already on its feet, boxing with its weapon pods.

With her hair blowing wildly from the helicopter blades held above where she stuck out her head, Miki was there above the Park, watching the fight happen below. She was inside a UNGCC helicopter to record the battle as a military observer; as was often the case, Miki had been one of the only people brave enough—or crazy enough—to volunteer for it. At least a soldier has a gun to protect himself with! Not that her death was what worried Miki, far from it.

She bit her lip and kept focusing her camera on the battle. It was always difficult for her to see such violence; she knew that Godzilla had to be stopped but it pained every time her to see it done like this. There was Godzilla to whom both she and her grandfather owed their lives on the one side. Tomas Santos, her friend, and, very soon, Kyle Martin, the man whom she loved, were on the other.

As was always her prime directive, Miki had tried to reach Godzilla's mind and convince him to leave—God knew that he would have already done so of his own volition if those military idiots had just let him do so—but she had been unable to. That he listened to her was true, but when the bloodlust filled him, she could not stay his hand. He had blocked her out and would not hear her voice; he would hear no voice save that of rage. Miki knew that when that happened there was only once choice left and that, if she truly loved him, it had to be taken. But if only there was some other way!

At least she could say in Godzilla's favor that he had taken the fight away from the city though who knew how long it would be contained there in the park. Suddenly, with her mind disconnected from the monster and shifted towards the city, she heard the scream and it was the psychic scream of thousands. Miki shifted her powers towards to the city and, horrified, mentally saw countless people running for their lives in mad panic. The city hadn't been evacuated; people were still there!

Miki gasped at this. One of the most difficult things in keeping a kaiju from destroying a city was how to do so without causing more destruction than the kaiju itself. Only in time of greatest need was military action taken, such as when the destruction was already so great that the city was forfeit or when it was seen that the monster would only go on to cause further damage if not stopped then and there. Considering that the survival of the world was at stake, the loss of a city thought to be evacuated was acceptable and in sending the robots of Steel Reign II to do battle in New Orleans, UNGCC had been promised by the US that it was just that, evacuated. However, Miki knew that it wasn't so and that she had to call this information in order to stop the carnage before it began.

That was when she heard the whine of engines in the distance and looked with her binoculars to where the sound came from; she saw that it was the other robots of Steel Reign II, Red Ronin and Cyber-Saur. With that Miki knew that it was already too late to stop it and knew that it was only going to get worse. Heaven help them all. 


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Thirteen

In New Mexico, King Ghidorah had made landfall and was already decimating the ranks of the Swarm. Wave after wave of insects was sent against him but, despite their most valiant efforts, they were all destroyed. Some were splattered underneath his heel, and some were exploded by his Gravity Beams, and some were electrocuted by his Crimson Lightning. They crawled over him like maggots to bite and tear with no heed to their own lives. The battle was a huge blur with King Ghidorah seemingly everywhere at once, biting and blasting and clawing. With his Fear driving his foes into madness and destroying all semblance of order, it was all too easy to pick them apart like the maggots they literally were.

That was when he caught sight of them, the first true challenge to be faced on this field of battle; on catching sight of them, the Prince of Skyllans tore this way and that to throw his captors away from him. Then with a mighty leap he launched himself skywards to see his attackers for himself. From far away he beheld the buzzing swarm of hundreds of giant house sized hornets. Savage and cruel, they were armed to the teeth and were ready to deal death from above. King Ghidorah welcomed the sight of the proud and foolhardy flying to their doom yet he felt his mind drift back to when he battled the minions of Apophis in the land of Egypt. Then as before, the skyllan's cancerous mind sensed that another intelligence was directing his foes in their ways of battle. He would slaughter the flying monsters to see for himself just how this intelligence that guided them operated.

The colossal hornets moved in aggressively and began to rapidly fire hundreds of their stingers like bullets from a machine gun. King Ghidorah wasn't nearly fast enough to dodge it and was hit over and over by the unending fire. Working like armor piercing missiles, they imbedded themselves deeply and exploded inside the demon's flesh to release their payload of acid. Enraged, King Ghidorah let his hate give him strength and fired his Gravity Beams at his foes yet they were too quick and dodged the second they saw him demon his necks to aim. They regrouped and began to fly around him in a holding pattern, firing their stingers all the while.

King Ghidorah bit this way and that, firing with his Gravity Beams again and again but his foes were too many to be all destroyed and too small, relatively, to be fired upon. Everywhere the hornets flew firing their weapons everywhere they could yet they did not touch him. Their foe did not know it but Inagos' scouts had seen those who'd perished by the demon's necrotic touch. They were careful to fight from a distance.

They did that because they knew their foe and for it, no matter how many hornets King Ghidorah was lucky enough to destroy there were still hundreds more. The skyllan's shield could only guard against energy assaults while his regenerative abilities were quickly being taxed to the limit. There seemed nothing he could do. Was this the end for the demon, was it all over? Far from it.

King Ghidorah simultaneously released a scatter shot burst of Crimson Lightning and electrified his skin. Those that had been firing their stingers pointblank were close enough to be electrocuted while those from far off reeled in pain and fell to earth. Those among the hornets that survived were stubborn and yet remained; such foolhardiness was to be their downfall because even as they turned around for another assault, King Ghidorah beat his wings and made a hurricane force wind to blow them away. While the hornets were blown hither and yon the Prince of Skyllans opened his maws and from all three shot out balls of fire that quickly incinerated them into so much ash.

The ash drifted to the ground in lazy black swirls soon enough and those that opposed him were dead. With the powers he had stolen from Apophis he had seen their thoughts and knew where their master was; he need only fly there and destroy the leader. It was not to be the African battles once more for these would end quickly though the deaths would be just as painful.

As King Ghidorah shot through the skies like a lightning bolt, another though surged through him. While invading the minds of his foes as they died, he had found someone who hated the leader and who would seek him destroyed. With her on his side, victory would be assured. Her name? Shiigan.

Don and Lisa were in New Orleans's Jackson Square, taking in the sights. Though they'd wanted to visit the place for years, this was their first visit to the famous city. They'd already eaten the crawdads and cornbread and other southern foods. They'd taken in the sights that had no mention of slavery and instead mentioned how humble slaves were greatful for the protection of brave gray clad soldiers in the War Between the States. It had all been quite interesting. Now the pair was content to just walk along and take pictures of the beautiful Spanish buildings of the French Quarter.

The pair was admiring the lacy iron grillwork, looking at the trolleys, and listening to the jazz. It was a breathtaking mixture of old and new and they loved it. Lisa especially liked the vacation; it was a relief from all the privations that she and her husband had had to endure since the Monster Wars came to the US. It was becoming harder every day to imagine that America was the land of plenty with how she and Don had had to put up with powdered milk and canned foods for weeks. They had to put up with that and with the gas rationing, and the meat rationing, and the sugar rationing, (water rationing too in their home state of California since King Ghidorah had destroyed the Shasta and Hoover Dams.) There was also the scrap metal collecting, and the growing of Victory Gardens, not to mention how hard it had been just to go anywhere since martial law had been imposed—sure took Emmerich long enough to get things n gear.

As she walked, Lisa grimly mused that this had to have been how folks on the American home front felt during World War II. That or more accurately the British home front because it hadn't been the US fighting a war for survival that time. It was strange comparing the Monster Wars to "the Big One." Back then, America sought to avenge how it was "suddenly and deliberately attacked by the naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan," and to free the tens of millions enslaved by the swastika.

Back then, the US had wanted to defeat Japan for its treachery and the Nazis for their evil but that wasn't the case now. King Ghidorah was just some mindless monster; that he had to be stopped was true but wanting to punish him was as pointless as wanting to punish a hurricane for the damage it causes (or so they thought). There was neither righteous wrath that sought to vanquish evil nor any desire to fight outside mere survival. It was really quite pitiful and was in no way helped by how the current president was no Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Reflecting on the national, nay, global crisis, Lisa almost felt guilty that she and her husband could be enjoying themselves while there was so much suffering all around them. She walked past a shop and saw in the window a silver star; it showed that someone dear to the shop owner was serving in the armed forces. It was next to a gold star and that showed that someone dear to that family had died. On seeing it, Lisa was reminded just how much pain there was. Her friend at work had just lost an uncle to King Ghidorah, how long would it be before she lost someone too?

That was when they saw the Le Petit Theater and Don knew he just had to take a picture of it. When he checked the camera, however, he saw that it had run out of film.

Don turned to his wife and asked, "Honey, do you have any more film?"

For a minute, Lisa just looked at her husband in shock at his seeming shallowness. After a while, she just sighed in resignation. "Yeah, I think I do." Stopping in the sidewalk, she removed her backpack and begun rummaging through it, disregarding the crowd that milled about them. She checked this way and that and finally found the roll she had been looking for.

Lisa gave it to her husband and said "Don, I think that was our last one. After this we should go to that store we passed a while back and get some more."

She was about to say that she saw a store just up ahead when she was cut off by a sound truck that drove past them on the cobblestone streets. They heard it blare out the same words repeatedly. "ATTENETION, ATTENTION, THE US BATTLESHIP MONTANA SIGHTED GODZILLA JUST MOMENTS AGO HEADED TOWARDS THE GULF COAST OF THE UNITED STATES. HE WILL ARRIVE IN NEW ORLEANS IN A MATTER OF HOURS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL. YOU MUST EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY."

Stunned at this, Don and Lisa looked at each other. They continued listening to the sound truck and were told to go to designated areas where they would be taken to safety. Everyone that heard was afraid and many people began running wherever they could. Lisa asked her husband, "Honey, you don't really think that… that… THING is coming here, do you?"

He shook his head. "I heard about this on the radio this morning. It was said that Godzilla might come here. Might. They said he could pop up here or in Florida or maybe not at all. Forget about it Lisa. I bet you that in two seconds they'll cal it off and say that he's not coming at all. Heck, the odds of it coming here are a thousand to—"

Fate having been sufficiently dared, everyone, Don and Lisa included, froze at the tremendous roar that shook the entire city. It was a feral gong like roar so loud that people's ears hurt and even bled. The roar shook the city again, louder and longer this time. Most everyone in Jackson Square turned southeast to where they heard the roar. They all turned less than a quarter of a mile towards the mighty Mississippi River that flowed through the city of New Orleans and saw a black mountain of flesh and bone arise from the brown muddy waters.

Her face a grimace of fear and anger, Lisa struck her husband's shoulder. "Darn it Don, you jinxed this!"

In the Swarm Hive, the mantis monster Shiigan was taking the grub daughter of Inagos through the dark, dirty, subterranean tunnels under the Hive. A horrible monster had been seen and it seemed determined to wage total war against the whole of the Swarm and even from that deep, the ground shook from the demon's onslaught. For that, Inagos had instructed his heir to be taken to safety in the vast tunnels under the ground where the egg laying insect queens were as well.

Now she was doing just that, taking little Meganulon to safety. Yet as Shiigan crouched low to the ground and held the pulpy squirming grub between her scythes, she imagined how easy it would be to just kill her. Even now, the one time ruler of the Kamakuras still hated Inagos for the defeat she suffered and vainly plotted against him. That was when she stopped and realized why not?

Shiigan stopped and for the first time realized that he had come. It was the destroyer of worlds whom she had felt; it was the three-headed monster. Though she didn't know it, King Ghidorah's wicked, cancerous thoughts were polluting her mind and making her think the very darkest thoughts that it could. With this madness, she knew at that moment, who needed Inagos! With great and terrible callousness, Shiigan lifted the squirming grub up above her head and threw it to the ground. Whatever the species, babies are babies and the child screamed and wept at this.

Though weak and crippled by the beatings she received daily from the Locust King, Shiigan should have the power to kill a baby. She raised her broken scythe hand and tried to strike Meganulon but the baby squirmed away. The brutal scene repeated itself again and again yet the maggot child child fearfully squirmed away each time. Soon enough, the babe could do no more and the cripple would slay it. The exhausted Meganulon could move no more and she saw Shiigan raise her scythe for the final blow; it was all over. She looked to the squirming thing and remembered its mother that defied her in the past. She would punish the daughter for the sins of the mother and—!

That was when she knew she couldn't. It wasn't that she felt any pangs of remorse at the idea but it was that Shiigan felt the voice saying that the child was unimportant. There were more important things to do. Hurling one last snarl at baby Meganulon, Shiigan strode off to meet her destiny.

As for Godzilla at that moment, he strode back and forth past the Spanish buildings of the French Quarter, casually destroying them with each step. With each movement of his body, more and more priceless buildings that recorded the history of the ages became one with the ages. The Presbytre, once a famous courthouse; the Cabildo which one time was the seat of Spanish power; and the Le Petit Theater (which Don had so wanted to take a picture of) were all stamped flat. That the King of the Monsters meant no malice in the destruction he caused, that "it wasn't personal," was small consolation to the terrified and panicked people that called the city home and had revered those buildings. But what was going to happen next was indeed something to offer consolation or at least it would have been if not for what happened right after it.

Already out of the French Quarter, Godzilla looked to the vast megalopolis in which he was and saw that his foe was not there but to the west. The King of the Monsters had no quarrel with these humans; he would leave them be. After all, he had bigger to fish to obliterate from existence. So with that thought he turned back towards the Mississippi River. He would take the vast waterway west until it curved back and took him into the Gulf again; from there he would go until he made landfall where it ended.

But just as he turned his back to face the water, he felt something blast him from behind. In shock more than anything else, Godzilla looked back and saw a gleaming, metal giant come to do battle. It was one of the humans' robots and was piloted by humans and was ready to fight. Godzilla could see that it would be the first human shaped giant robot that he had had to face since Angela those years ago and that it was of an entirely different style. As its wings retracted into its gray metal legs and it lowered itself to the ground in a standing position the King of the Monsters was able to truly appreciate the difference of style.

Its silver and blue trim body was made up entirely of edges and corners and was box shaped more than anything else. On its back was a buzz saw like thing and there was a tail next to the legs. Its impossibly stubby, massive legs were placed atop tank treads and the upper body was small in comparison. As for the upper body, the arms ended in cone shaped weapon pods and the narrow pinhead sported a drill nose reminiscent of the machine's Mysterian namesake. The name of the machine was MOGUERA—Mobile Operations Godzilla Universal Expert Robot Aerotype.

Never one to shrink from battle, Godzilla saw his foe and knew the battle was on. He lowered his head and charged the steel colossus in a head but to knock it down but was sent flying backwards by the fire from the Plasma Laser Guns situated in the robots eyes. From his place on the ground, the saurian immediately moved his head and fired his Atomic Ray but the MOGUERA lifted its arms and used them to block. Godzilla scrambled upwards and let his silver spines glow fiercely as he loosed his stronger Red Spiral Ray, which struck home on the robot.

Inside said robot, the crew endured the lurching of the machine and the shower of sparks that rained down. Lieutenant Santos checked his screen and sighed in relief as he saw that mechanical integrity still held. "We're still good to go men. Tactical attack C-13!"

Glen and Fuji nodded in unison. "Right!"

As per their orders, Glen made the robot go full speed ahead on tanks treads even as Fuji fired the chest mounted Plasma Laser Cannon. It struck the King of the Monsters with full force and left his hide blistered and peeled yet even as that happened he dropped to the ground to do a sweeping tail whip. Glen saw this and had MOGUERA leap up and stomp down on the beast's tail. Infuriated at the pain of that and the PLC as it back shot him, Godzilla hurled his body forward and sent the machine sending backwards.

The robot suffered even more as the King of the Monsters clubbed it with his tail to break it apart like an egg. He would break this monument to man's hubris apart like the filth it was and show the no force men could bring against him could win! As the men inside cursed their luck, their commander ordered the deployment of Spiral Grenade Missiles and it was done. Godzilla howled in pain as the shells shot out from their weapon pods and drilled into his skin and exploded underneath but nonetheless picked up the MOGUERA by the neck and, after hoisting the machine over his head, hurled it in the direction of Louis Armstrong Park. There would be nothing there to get in the way of their battle and there would be no risk of innocents in danger there.

Making the Earth tremble as he did so, Godzilla went to where his enemy was and waited cautiously to see if the fight was over. The robot seemingly exploded upwards and the spread legs of the machine struck out in all directions as the lower body spun independently over the upper body which was on the ground on a handstand. Godzilla felt his blood drawn at this and by the time he countered MOGUERA was already on its feet, boxing with its weapon pods.

With her hair blowing wildly from the helicopter blades held above where she stuck out her head, Miki was there above the Park, watching the fight happen below. She was inside a UNGCC helicopter to record the battle as a military observer; as was often the case, Miki had been one of the only people brave enough—or crazy enough—to volunteer for it. At least a soldier has a gun to protect himself with! Not that her death was what worried Miki, far from it.

She bit her lip and kept focusing her camera on the battle. It was always difficult for her to see such violence; she knew that Godzilla had to be stopped but it pained every time her to see it done like this. There was Godzilla to whom both she and her grandfather owed their lives on the one side. Tomas Santos, her friend, and, very soon, Kyle Martin, the man whom she loved, were on the other.

As was always her prime directive, Miki had tried to reach Godzilla's mind and convince him to leave—God knew that he would have already done so of his own volition if those military idiots had just let him do so—but she had been unable to. That he listened to her was true, but when the bloodlust filled him, she could not stay his hand. He had blocked her out and would not hear her voice; he would hear no voice save that of rage. Miki knew that when that happened there was only once choice left and that, if she truly loved him, it had to be taken. But if only there was some other way!

At least she could say in Godzilla's favor that he had taken the fight away from the city though who knew how long it would be contained there in the park. Suddenly, with her mind disconnected from the monster and shifted towards the city, she heard the scream and it was the psychic scream of thousands. Miki shifted her powers towards to the city and, horrified, mentally saw countless people running for their lives in mad panic. The city hadn't been evacuated; people were still there!

Miki gasped at this. One of the most difficult things in keeping a kaiju from destroying a city was how to do so without causing more destruction than the kaiju itself. Only in time of greatest need was military action taken, such as when the destruction was already so great that the city was forfeit or when it was seen that the monster would only go on to cause further damage if not stopped then and there. Considering that the survival of the world was at stake, the loss of a city thought to be evacuated was acceptable and in sending the robots of Steel Reign II to do battle in New Orleans, UNGCC had been promised by the US that it was just that, evacuated. However, Miki knew that it wasn't so and that she had to call this information in order to stop the carnage before it began.

That was when she heard the whine of engines in the distance and looked with her binoculars to where the sound came from; she saw that it was the other robots of Steel Reign II, Red Ronin and Cyber-Saur. With that Miki knew that it was already too late to stop it and knew that it was only going to get worse. Heaven help them all. 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fourteen

Circling above the Hive of the Swarm as if he were some vulture anticipating a feast from a dying man, was the Prince of Skyllans, King Ghidorah. He had fought fiercely against many foes and had killed many of the Swarm and splattered them like the insects they were yet all of a sudden they stopped and flew away. The demon knew why, even if he hadn't the power to see the thoughts of others, he would still have known why. Their leader, their king, sought single combat between them and had had his minions fall back to allow the enemy to come and be fought by the greatest one of them. Now King Ghidorah was there and was waiting for the challenge; he was waiting for battle for he would teach the Locust King what battle was. He who had he made war for power would fight he who made war for carnage.

That was when the three-headed monster heard a hum. He turned one head away from the Hive where he hovered and saw that it was a small swarm of ordinary locusts; he turned that head back to the Hive where the other heads looked. After all, those gnats were less than a nuisance. Yet the cloud of those gnats kept coming around him they swarmed and hovered around him, hundreds and thousands, more and more kept coming. They began to claw and bite at his eyes and flew down his nostrils and mouths slashing all the way. Intolerable! What were these locusts; he was waiting for the Locust…

Before King Ghidorah could act on that knowledge, Inagos struck from behind with all his might. The force of the blow was so great that the demon was sent crashing towards the ground in front of the Hive and Inagos flew down towards his foe at full speed. The wicked King Ghidorah immediately got up on his feet and hurled a volley of fireballs at his enemy yet Inagos was an aerial acrobat and he dodged each one, his transparent wings humming all the while. The Prince of Skyllans stretched his wings to the utmost to fire scattershot Crimson Lightning yet Inagos dodged that attack as well; the Locust King had seen his enemy's attacks through the eyes of his minions and knew what to do. Armed with that knowledge, he dove down to the ground for another attack.

The insect monster sprinted downwards from the sky to slash the demon with the blade of his razor sharp transparent wings yet the demon slyly side stepped his foe's attack. Perfect. Slightly distracted from the attack by his dodge, King Ghidorah reeled in pain for seemingly no reason at all though he quickly knew from what. Wings no longer suspended Inagos, rather he was suspended by blurs whose hum had turned into a whine to make ears bleed and it was doing that and worse to evil one. As everything seemed to blend together and the whine became deafening to cripple the demon, the Locust King that that it was a fitting that the chaos child of battle die by something he couldn't even touch.

The Prince of Skyllans fell to the ground writhing in pain all the while; that was when Inagos decided to take his chance and finish it. With his claw like forelimbs tucked into his body, the Locust King once again crashed himself into the demon and plunged his stinger as deep as could be done into the three-headed monster in order to unload its payload of venom. Inagos forcibly shot the toxin in with all his force, because he knew that he could not touch the demon for long lest the Taint weaken him. The corrosive acids had the power to melt diamond, and gallons of the stuff were being pumped into the evil one, more and more every second.

As this happened, the insects of the Swarm watching their master do battle could not believe it. Those who would defy the master would receive the poison and would fall dead in seconds. How many minutes had past since the master of the swarm had impaled the enemy, they did not know but that the foe still alive was nearly impossible. Inagos saw that his enemy yet lived and so put all his strength into his sting; such preoccupation was to be Inagos' final mistake.

It was while the Hive Lord's attention was diverted that King Ghidorah swung his spiked club tails in a wide arc in order to crash them at Inagos' sides. A vile and unearthly shriek came from the Locust King as those spines dug themselves in yet there came an even greater shriek when the spiny tails tore away their victim in a bloody gory spray from King Ghidorah's body. It was with such force that, while the insect was cast off, the stinger remained, like a bee. With that Inagos was cast aside with half his body ripped off and embedded in the enemy, still pumping venom from the sack and into the victim. Barely alive as his abdomen dripped his entrails into the ground, Inagos fell down in utter agony; however, he still had one hand left to play.

Even as King Ghidorah turned his necks to remove the venom sack that still kept pumping its toxin from his back, the five Kamacuras came to the assault and wrought their vengeance against he who would harm their master. Even with his regenerative powers, healing him, the Locust King's poison him dizzy and confused and in no condition to fend off the mantid attack. They came in slashing with their Grim Reaper like sickle claws and drew blood with each stroke. Their strategy was hit and run and it served them well; as fast as King Ghidorah tried to strike, all he hit was empty air. He couldn't even aim his beam attacks; Inagos' toxin was apparently narcotic as well as necrotic.

The mantis quintet slashed again with their scythes so quickly that it seemed that they were only blurred knives. Against such as onslaught, the already weakened Prince of Skyllans seemed soon to fall. Unable to focus his thoughts due to Inagos hallucinatory venom, he even failed to use scattershot Crimson Lightning. He tried to use the Fear against them but it was of no use; their wills were too strong and their noble devotion to their master too great for Fear to affect them. It seemed that this time it really was all over.

That was when Shiigan leapt down from the Hive and onto King Ghidorah's back. She crashed onto where the Locust King's venom sack was harpooned into the demon's flesh to burst the sack apart. As she did that, as she slickly slid off from the demon's back, drenched in liquid death. The Kamakuras saw what their old mistress did and knew what she was trying to do; they knew what was going to happen and they would not allow it!

Seeking to keep it from happening, the five of them, all at once, rushed at Shiigan and began slashing at her with their scythe-like claws. At first some of the hooked blades cracked her exoskeleton and sliced the tender innards kept beneath it but that quickly changed as Shiigan's armor grew hard and the mantis's claw strikes quickly bounced off. The same was not true when their target returned the attack.

Shiigan knew that the venom that Inagos used, while fatal to others, was mother's milk to her and would giver her strength. Even now it was doing that, making her armor hard, her senses acute, her claws sharp, and her muscles swell; before they knew it, Shiigan was her old self again and with her power returned cast the Kamakuras aside like so much chaff.

The limp was gone, her wickedly curved stinger glistened in the sunlight, and her claws stuck out from her forelimbs like bayonets. With her gigantic muscles flexing under her armor, she fairly towered over the five Kamakuras and was ready to kill them; they for their part were ready to die. In the days before Inagos, they had been Shiigan's chattel and she all too easily cast them aside; among the mantises, the female is more powerful than the male and a female of Kamakuras race she was. Now that the five mantises had used up much of their strength in the battle against King Ghidorah they had even less a chance of survival against her. However, the freedom that their master had given them was too sweet for them to ever live as the witch's slaves again.

One immediately rushed her, and while Shiigan moved to intercept another Kamakuras came in from behind. Their wicked mistress lanced the one in front of her with her right and spun around to slice the one from behind in half with her claws. The third was already at her sides and slashed with his claws with so much force that Shiigan's armor was pierced. As for the witch, she howled in pain when that happened and she kicked the male with such force with her spiked foot that his back was broken.

As for the remaining two, they took the defensive as Shiigan advanced and her claws stuck every which way. They had to duck and dodge as the evil giantess struck with claws that sometimes shattered stone and sometimes sliced it. However, her right claw was about to connect against the puny males when something knocked her down from behind. She looked up and saw that Inagos, though on his last legs, was there to fight his final battle.

It was perfect, just what she had wanted for so many years and now it was here, she was ready for it. Scythes raised, Shiigan lunged to attack but he, with waning strength, sidestepped at the blow and spun around to knock her down with a claw strike. Before she could rise up, Inagos spun around and sliced her with his razor edge wings, leaving her bellowing in pain. The two remaining Kamakuras took advantage of this and leapt with sickle claws raised to cut open her face yet they fell back as if they had bit a brick wall when she brought her forelimbs to shield herself.

She raised her hind legs with all her strength and managed to snap one of the mantis' necks. The last one flew up and began a diving attack to circle and confuse the giantess yet flight was not the male's power alone. She leapt up into the air yet just as she was about to do so, Inagos brought all his force on her left wing shattering it. In pain and rage, Shiigan brought all her strength together in a scissor movement to slash the Locust King's chest open and succeeded. She then brought her bayonet claw backward to gut the final Kamakuras that sought to attack from behind.

Ever so sickeningly and slowly the last mantis monster slid off Shiigan's claw, making a slurping sound as it did and making a dull thud as it hit the ground. Shiigan then, despite her agony, hobbled towards the fallen form of the Locust King, to revel in her victory over this fallen foe. However, if she was to expect any pleas for mercy from Inagos, they were not coming, no, a thousand times no. The final assault had used up the last reserves of his strength and what little bit of life he had was quickly ebbing away as the blood and entrails spilled out from his body, but with his last breath did he curse Shiigan, or would have if he had the power to speak. With his last breath, the Hive Lord gave one final act of defiance and spat at her. For that, Shiigan raised her scythe like claws up and cut off the Locust King's head and the head rolled about on the desert sand.

It was over, or so Shiigan thought. The mistress of the Kamakuras was triumphant and yet she knew that it would not be so if not for the three-headed monster that had come. She turned around and saw the Prince of Skyllans; he was strong again because he had rested while she had fought. Shiigan looked up towards him and he seemed strange to her. After all, she was used to dealing with fellow insect monsters and King Ghidorah was certainly not such a creature, yet even so he had come and he had done battle with Inagos just as she knew he would. She had saved his life from the Kamakuras and from Inagos; surely he would reward her and gave her a place at his side.

As for King Ghidorah, he looked at her with his three heads and six eyes for one brief moment before blasting her apart into so much bloody paste with his Gravity Beams, red slime and gore raining down. He was the Devil's Hammer; what else did she expect? That Shiigan had proven useful as he had anticipated was true but now that that use was ended, he had had no further reason to keep her alive. (Not that he had ever really needed her; he could just as easily exuded Taint to make the Kamakuras fall down dead just by his wishing it.) However, as King Ghidorah's heads looked this way and that, he knew that he would have to do something about the viscera smeared across his body; the drenching of blood was rather intolerable. However, that would have to wait because he had something more important to attend to and that something was coming.

The Swarm had held back as they saw this and had waited for their master to win yet now the master was dead and so they could only take revenge for him. King Ghidorah saw this and looked and felt an evil pleasure rise up in him at the thought of what he was going to do. He saw the mad mob swarm towards him and he thrust himself into the sky with his legs and stayed there by his wings. Each head looked around and saw the Swarm coming to wreak its vengeance, even there in the air but it was not to be.

Just as the flying insects came rushing towards him to bite and claw yet just as they were but a few feet away from him, the fliers stopped. As for King Ghidorah, he eyes were glowing as he looked at them and so did theirs. With blank, multifaceted eyes and seemingly no volition of their own, the flying insects that had come up went back down. Now alone in the sky, the Prince of Skyllans extended his necks and his wings to the fullest as his whole body began to glow. If the insects of the Swarm had any wits about them they would have begun to run for their lives out of fear for what might soon happen but since Inagos had always done all their thinking for them they stayed right where they were.

What happened next was this. Having charged for some time, he was now ending the cycle for by now King Ghidorah shone the color of gold and was of a hideous beauty as he did so. Then, as if he could contain no more power, he released it all in a raging Death Storm from his mouths and wings onto all that lived. As each child of the Swarm was struck by the light show, each one wailed in agony and writhed in torment as every bit of thought and memory was erased and each insect was made a mindless puppet—the power he had stolen from Apophis proved useful. They all screamed a cry like that of a thousand rusted nails scraped across a thousand chalkboards until the finally fell down as one dead.

By this time, little Meganulon had made it to the edge of the Hive and was now peeking her multifaceted eyes over the edge of the drop. She had been hidden well and was thus unaffected by the demon's mind control yet now the slimy little grub wished she hadn't. She had seen the battle for herself; she had seen the end of the Swarm. At this sight, a great hatred filled the larval child, a hatred that belied her age, at seeing this happened to the Swarm, her Swarm. Inagos had bequeathed it to her and the three-headed monster had stolen it from her on killing him, he whom she called father.

Meganulon had lost her father and the kingdom that she would rule and knew a sick fury unlike any she though she could. The child felt it boil in her, her hate, her rage, and all her sorrow. She knew she could not counter this, not yet, but she also knew that when the time came, she would have her revenge. Until then, she would have to bide her time and so she slunk off into the shadows, safe from prying eyes and listening ears, where she would wait until the time would come.

Four lasers all fired simultaneously at Godzilla from their turrets on Cyber-Saur's shoulders and that strike was followed up by a strike from the Beam Sword of Red Ronin's Discus Shield. Desperate, Godzilla fired his Red Spiral Ray at Cyber-Saur yet that was of no use as the robot's electric field managed to absorb the energy and then it was sent back as massive laser attack from its shoulder, wrist and mouth cannons. With that, Red Ronin fired a rapid maser burst from the Discuss Shield to further disorient the monster. Then the two machines stepped aside to let MOGUERA come flying in to do a head but attack but with head pointed forward with drill nose spinning; it sent the King of the Monsters flying back with a huge bloody wound in his shoulder. Ignoring the pain, Godzilla sent the machine down as well with a tail whip and wrestled MOGUERA on the ground

From her helicopter vantage-point, Miki could see the other two war machines pull back to let the chief one deal damage to the target. The lesser machines were quite unlike their compatriot. Like the lost Jet Jaguar whose creator is shared, Cyber-Saur was a true robot in that it didn't rely on a human operator; it carried out its orders independently. Unlike G-Force's other weapons, the saurian war machine hadn't been designed by Dr. Yoshizawa; rather, it had been built by renegade "gadgeteer" Roxa based upon the plans of his mentor, Mr. Goro.

As for its appearance, Cyber-Saur lived up to its name. The gold robot was designed like an art deco predatory dinosaur down to the fanged mouth, taloned feet that balanced on the toes, and a long rail. The arms were slender, more for grasping than grappling, but were protected by flaring shoulder guards. On those shoulders rose up missile launchers and atop them were laser cannons; rising up over the robot's head, the weapons were like some bizarre collar. At the smooth metallic head, there were no eyes, merely an odd visor.

As for Red Ronin, that machine was another matter altogether. Instead of being shaped like a dinosaur like Cyber-Saur, it was, as some said, a Godzilla-sized robot samurai. The metallic titan was man shaped and its limbs were made up of gleaming silver bands; the metal making up its "boots" and "gloves" was red as were the shoulder guards, and the trunk. The robot's circular shield was also red, however, the samurai helmet covering its silver human face was yellow.

The human like construction design was intentional. When Dr. Yuriko Takaguchi built his robot soon after G-Force's founding, he made it to resemble a human being for the psychological benefit of the world's people seeing a machine made in the image of man doing battle with the monsters that ended the Age of Man. This was further emphasized by how the robot was controlled by the pilot's mind by means of psionic interface so that the machine was, in fact, an extension of the pilot.

Watching from well above the battle zone, Miki was near panic because she knew Kyle was piloting Red Ronin just as she knew all too well how such a robotic control system could affect a pilot's mind. As she saw Godzilla do battle with the three war machines at once, she could see that more and more of the city was being destroyed. She knew that the battle had to be stopped before it was too late so, knowing she couldn't call the robots directly, she put aside her camera to call in HQ.

She heard static before the call went through and a familiar voice was heard. "Commander Raschell? …Oh Commander Raschell, thank God it's you! We have a major crisis… No, it's not the city sir; I know its expendable… It's the people; the city hasn't been evacuated! There are still innocent people he—"

Miki's ear all but bled at the shocked scream that she received over the phone. "Yes I know the US Army assured us that the city was evacuated but that's not the case. You're G-Force North America Commander and this is North American soil, you have to call off the attack before any more innocent people are killed!" She waited for a reply but for a time there was none coming. The silence worried her; she knew that she didn't have to be a telepath to realize what the Commander was contemplating.

That's when she heard the reply, however soft and weak it was; it was too late to stop the battle. The city was already forfeit and Godzilla had to be destroyed. Miki was in shock on hearing that. "But sir, it doesn't have to be that way. Godzilla is only reacting defensively; if the attack is called off, he'll leave. Sir? …Sir!"

That was when Commander Rascell ended his transmission. In a rare fit of anger, Miki threw down the phone and growled. The helicopter pilot looked towards her in confusion when he heard that but she ignored him and closed her eyes as she began to concentrate. It would tax her powers to the utmost, but if the men of G-Force wouldn't end the battle by making their robots leave, then she would end the battle by making Godzilla leave.

As for the King of the Monsters, he was at that moment doing battle with the machine called Cyber-Saur. It dodged back and forth as its foe tried to land a blow but not one punch connected. Instead, Godzila winced in pain as his face was burned by Cyber-Saur's shoulder lasers and was then bombarded by the shoulder missile launcher's ordinance. Yet it was during this stream of fire that Godzilla, regardless of his injuries, rushed towards the machine, grabbed its right arm by the wrist, and tore it off. Then to the amazement of all those watching, the King of the Monsters raised the dismembered metallic arm and used it like a club to bludgeon Cyber-Saur again and again.

By that time, the machine had already been damaged but with this new onslaught cracks began to appear and sparks began to flare all over its body. Already staggered thus, Cyber-Saur's remote operator at HQ never saw the Atomic Ray coming that sharp shot their machine's shoulder lasers and missile launchers. Seeing it unarmed and damaged, Santos ordered HQ from MOGUERA to recall Cyber-Saur before it was destroyed; he and Kyle would handle things from there.

As the injured machine flew crookedly into the sky, Godzilla roared his defiance at it and proclaimed to it his victory. However, the King of the Monsters knew that it could easily prove a hollow victory with what he faced in its brother robots. Red Ronin and MOGUERA were still there and even then were readying themselves for another attack against their foe. With blistered skin and worse, the exhausted Godzilla knew that the humans that controlled the remaining machines would still be eager to kill him and might indeed overwhelm him in his current condition. But if it would be so, then bring it on!

With eyes glowing with fury and fists clenched, Godzilla was ready to face any challenge and battle any foe. He would face his enemies and destroy them to show them that nobody could defy the King of the Monsters! That was when he heard Miki. Of all the...! An angry look flashed across his face and he could only think, what on Earth was she doing? Didn't she know that he was in the midst of a battle?

From her helicopter vantage point, Miki psychically said "Godzilla, you have to listen. Stop fighting, there are still people here! If you don't leave right now, they'll die! Run!"

On hearing her psychic plea, Godzilla was stunned. There were still innocents here? He looked around to see the city made flaming ruins around him; it was then that he let himself see that he saw the thousands of people running in fear. On seeing them he felt a wave of disgust and asked what kind of monsters were these humans to leave those weak and helpless among them in a place of danger? (Monsters, he would have to retract that thought; it would be an insult to his kind.) Didn't they even care about the lives of others of their own kind? And yet… even if they didn't, Godzilla did. Even if he had fought the humans time and again, he would not strike down an innocent life and so, even though he burned at the mere thought of running from the field of battle, he, ever so slowly, began to fall back.

Though exhausted, Miki could still see this from her helicopter and managed a weary smile. The men at HQ and aboard MOGUERA saw this and clung to a fragile hope that Godzilla would be gone from this place and leave the city be; destroying Godzilla had been the secondary goal, saving the city had been the primary. Godzilla saw that nobody was stopping him and, although he never took his eyes from either of the two robots, he made good his exit.

However, it was just as he was turning to leave when he felt something strike him from behind with enough force to knock him down flat atop an overpass. Though stunned, Godzilla immediately got up from the broken bridge to look around and to see who had done that; that was when he saw the round discus shield return to the arm of Red Ronin and knew what had happened. To strike a retreating foe whose back was turned was deceitful and treacherous and that filled him with rage. Godzilla could not have known it but he was not alone in that anger; the men of G-Force were also infuriated at the thought of the pilot's actions. As for Miki all she could was scream.

Burning with contempt for the humans, contempt for their pettiness and deceit and cruelty, Godzilla was barely able to keep himself in check. Fists clenched and unclenched and he was barely able to keep himself from lashing out, even with the knowledge that innocents were in danger and even with Miki's voice. Yet even despite all this, he was willing to turn the other cheek and leave it be, however that was when he heard another voice and it was not Miki's voice.

"That's right lizard boy, run! Run like the crawling cowardly reptile you are. You don't have the guts to fight me then? Then crawl on your belly and eat dust!"

Those were the taunts that he heard coming from Red Ronin's audio system. Godzilla, of course, couldn't understand any spoken human language (the psychic rapport that he had with Miki was a different thing altogether) but he was smart enough to understand the meaning behind the words. He was also smart enough to remember the voice as belonging to Kyle Martin. The sheer insolence of the maggot! Godzilla knew that he should have killed him when he had had the chance but if the human wanted to fight him man to monster like this then he would—no; he couldn't. Though the Great Tyrannosaur only knew why, Miki cared for the human and if only for that reason, he could raise no hand against him… however much he might want to crush the insect.

In Red Ronin's command center, Kyle was hooked in and had his hands on the controls. From behind the neuro-helmet that connected his mind to the machine, he frowned because Godzilla would not fight him, would not grant him the vengeance he so sought. When he had received command of Red Ronin for understanding the design better than anyone else, Kyle had told himself over and over that if he killed Godzilla that day that it wouldn't be out of revenge. He knew that he couldn't afford to lose control, not with Miki there. But now that he had Red Ronin's power at his command, he thought… differently.

"Kyle what are you doing? Let Godzilla go!" Kyle looked around for the tinny sound until realizing that it was coming from the machine's communications system and the person saying it was his friend, Lieutenant Tomas Santos. "You heard me, let the monster go. That's an order! He wants to retreat? Let him! To drive Godzilla away from the city was why we came; we can finish him off later, away from all this."

Drunk with power and hungry for revenge, Kyle yelled, "NO! No way Santos, this ends here! That monster killed my brother and he's killed thousands more! But he's not going to kill anyone else ever again, Tomas. I swear it. Kyle Martin, over and out." With that Red Ronin hurled his shield with full force at its foe.

Unable to block it or dodge it in time, the shield hit the King of the Monsters with its full force and sent him flying out of the park they had been and crashing into a building that immediately turned to rubble. The people in the city were running in mad panic and many there were killed when the building collapsed on them. With that Godzilla went fairly mad with hatred and exploded from the rubble of the building to roar his blood red rage and sharp shoot the machine straight in the chest with the strength of anger. In the robot's control center, Kyle winced in pain as he felt its damage; at the same time he smiled, however, because he knew that the fight was on.

Yes the fight was on so with that both titans charged each to make the city ring with the din of battle. The pilot and gunner of the MOGUERA looked to their leader for what they should do and saw him curse the situation. "Damn!" cursed Santos. "We can't risk a lose cannon with power like that; we have disable him. Open fire on Red Ronin!"

With that MOGUERA opened fire on Red Ronin. The crimson machine immediately felt the stung of twin Plasma Laser Guns and the pilot cursed the pain. Santos and his men took advantage of it and locked Kyle's robot into place with their own machine's weapon pods so they could grind the machine's drill nose into it. Yet just as they were doing that, Godzilla came and tore MOGUERA from Red Ronin and sent his fist crashing into the metal samurai's face; it would be his fight and nobody else's!

MOGUERA got up from the blow and rolled back on its tank tread feet. Hoping to lure Godzilla away from the city, the robot opened fire with its Plasma Laser Cannon and Guns yet neither combatant would yield one inch; both were determined to destroy each other. Thinking to up the ante, the Mysterian descended war machine opened its weapon pods to fire a hail of Spiral Grenade Missiles at the King of the Monsters.

It was as this happened that Red Ronin's unshielded arm turned itself into charging gigantic futuristic cannon to shoot its saurian foe. Godzilla was by then arching back by MOGUERA's increased assault yet he saw the robot samurai firing its now glowing weapon. At the last possible second he dropped to the ground and did a sweeping tail whip that sent the machine falling back so that its shot went flying past him altogether and hit MOGUERA. As for said machine, the tremendous shot went straight through it and hit the building behind it, seemingly splitting it in half and that half began falling towards the people below.

In Red Ronin, Kyle saw this and couldn't believe what he had done. Miki and Godzilla gasped at the horrific sight and for those who would perish. From inside their fallen, prostrate, and damaged robot, Lieutenant Santos and his men, Glen and Fuji, went silent in despair in the knowledge and at the thought of those who would die. As for those hundreds of people there who would die they looked up at the shadow of death cover them and felt the dust and stones fall on them. They then did the only thing left to them; they screamed.

They screamed as the shattered half of the building came down to crush them to death yet the sound of the rushing building suddenly stopped with a deafening thud well before it hit the ground. The fleeing people there in the shadow of the building were almost dead with fear but confusion over the fact that they were not dead slowly overcame fear and, trembling, they turned their eyes upwards. Yet when they did so they gasped at the sight because there was Godzilla and he had caught the falling building thus saving all their lives.

He stood there, towering over them as he held it up, even though broken glass, loose masonry, and and things well out on the frightened grimy people. Although they were at first too stunned to move, the people quickly regained control of themselves and ran as the King of the Monsters turned downwards at them and seemingly roared at them to move. Not wanting to be there when the offer expired, the people ran for their lives and evacuated the place. As they did so, Godzilla held the half of the building over his head as those in danger made their way to safety even as he felt his titanic strength waning. Yet it was only when the last human was safely away that the King of the Monsters moved his arms away and let the building he had caught fall to the ground and crash into rubble.

With that, Godzilla let his colossal frame fall to the ground, making the city tremble as he did so. Holding the broken upper half of an entire skyscraper had taxed what remained of his mighty strength after his three on one battle; now he almost trembled atop the rubble that he buried his hands and knees in. For a time, there was no movement. Instead, there was only a stunned silence at what had happened because at both HQ and Ground Zero the people watching this couldn't believe what had just happened.

Godzilla had… saved those people? Why? At that moment nobody knew, not even Godzilla himself. In confusion, he looked down at the rubble around him and realized that he had saved those people's lives. Almost frightened at this, all the King of the Monsters knew was… he couldn't let them die, he just couldn't. With that he looked up at the helicopter where Miki was and he managed the saurian equivalent of a smirk; he knew she was smiling.

That was also when he felt an enormous pain lance through him that swept him across the ruined rubble strewn streets and left him buried the flaming wreckage of the building in which he crashed. When the saurian looked up past the broken buildings and shook off the rubble he was buried in, it was to see Red Ronin standing over him, the barrel of its arm cannon still smoking and its pilot still wishing for blood. At that moment, Godzilla felt hatred, a venomous rage, the likes of which he had never known burn inside him for what had happened. The treacherous, back stabbing, freak! He had spared his life after one battle, had done so for the sake of Miki's pleas for mercy and union and this? It was Shindo on Lagos all over again! Godzilla would kill him! He'd kill him!

Looking down at Kyle and Godzilla do battle from high up in her helicopter, Miki curled up into a ball and wept at what she knew would happen. Because of her link to the saurian, she felt his pain and his rage; she knew that now Godzilla would stop at nothing to claim blood. Neither was willing to accept even the existence of the other, instead agreeing to fight until they were both destroyed. Did not they now that hatred leads only to further hatred, that violence begets violence? How could they both tread the path of madness so willingly?

Back on the ground, the war amidst the ruins of the city continued between the two belligerents. With energy reserves for its beam cannon depleted, Red Ronin was now fighting hand to hand, albeit with an energy blade projecting from above its fist. As for Godzilla he was fighting with every bit of strength he could muster and was bringing all his fury to bear against his metallic foe. He kept the machine on the defensive with a barrage of claw swipes yet that was quickly proved useless when the machine brought up its near indestructible shield. Thinking to go on the offensive, Red Ronin slashed with his shield at his foe but that quickly proved useless as Godzilla grasped the shield with his teeth and tore it away in a spray of sparks.

Feeling the robot's damage as his own pain, Kyle was in no way prepared for how the King of the Monsters then slammed the shield into the iron titan's mid section so hard that the machine was all but split in two. Forcing the thought through his mind that he felt no pain, that it was all in his head, Kyle had Red Ronin grasp the shield, tear it out from its mid section, and it let it drop. The machine staggered as its belly shot out sparks and dropped its electronic innards; Kyle knew that if he were to end the fight he would have to end it now.

However, watching from above in her helicopter, Miki knew that Godzilla would not let Kyle end it. She saw yellow lightning danced along his spines and saw the King of the Monster fire his Red Spiral Ray at the mechanical foe. She then saw the machine raise up its arms to block the blow and that that deflected a stream of fire in her direction. Unable to think as she saw this, Miki, in mad panic, jumped out even as the stray shot vaporized the entire helicopter and the poor pilot within. Godzilla saw this and froze leaving him open to attack from his robot foe; as for Miki, she used all her psychic energy in a futile, desperate attempt to slow her descent.

Thinking to go to her, Godzilla struggled against Red Ronin yet when Kyle saw that Miki's helicopter was destroyed, he redoubled his efforts to end the fight so he could go to her. On the King of the Monster's part, he fired his Atomic Ray straight into the damaged area of Red Ronin. Inside the robot's command center, Kyle saw he was nearly finished but he also knew on looking at his hated foe knew that he couldn't die without making sure that his brother's killer, and perhaps Miki's, die first. With that, Red Ronin charged forward one last time.

Godzilla saw it coming and ducked down to send it flying back with a tail whip. The machine then fell on its back and under assault by a barrage of blows from the King of the Monsters. Then, with fists bleeding and nearly broken from striking the near impenetrable armor, Godzilla continued his assault and sank his teeth into Red Ronin's shoulder. Red Ronin gathered all its strength and knocked its foe aside with a right hook, followed, up by a left jab. Back on his feet, though bloody and wounded from the robot's energy blade, the King of the Monsters saw his boxing foe and rallied his strength for a head butt. However, the robot anticipated this move and grabbed the oncoming dinosaur to send them both flying back.

The force of that backward bodyslam was so great, that it was felt as far away as Canada.

For a time, neither combatant moved for both were so injured by the blow. Bleeding and bruised, Godzilla forced himself up on wobbling legs yet as he hobbled towards Red Ronin the nearly destroyed machine stabbed its fist blade all the way through Godzilla's ankle. With blood spurting, the King of the Monsters screamed his agony and brought his other foot crashing down of Red Ronin's arm with such force that the hand was torn from it. Then bracing himself through the agony, he tore the blade out from his ankle and struck the now standing robot with a roundhouse tail whip.

The last machine of Steel Reign II was on the verge of destruction and its pilot knew it. From inside his machine's control center, Kyle Martin cursed this and frantically typed the escape codes into the barely functional controls. He knew that Miki was out there somewhere and that, though he would die to avenge his brother, he also had to live to save the woman he loved. Not noticing the escape pod as it shot out from Red Ronin's head; Godzilla continued his assault and finished off the steel colossus with a final blast of Red Spiral Ray.

That last burst of energy had used up what little strength the King of the Monsters had left and for the moment he could only tremble as he lay on the ground. Looking around him, Godzilla could see that both Red Ronin and MOGUERA had been mangled into flaming twisted wrecks; he'd left them destroyed, perhaps beyond repair. It was small comfort as he looked and saw the city was no more; the French Quarter was a flaming crater and downtown had been stamped flat. How many innocents had paid the price for Kyle Martin's madness? That was when Godzilla's golden eyes went wide as he remembered his innocent, Miki!

Forcing himself to his feet despite the agony, he hobbled towards the Louis Armstrong Park above which the helicopter had been destroyed in a vain hope of finding her. As the King of the Monsters went there he could see from his vantage point that the Park had been mostly untouched save for the brief fight he had had there with MOGUERA; in fact, the level of serenity was almost eerie. As he entered the park, Godzilla watched his every step because he knew not where Miki was and thought he might crush her by accident. He looked about and scanned everywhere but he found nothing; as this happened he began to feel the way he had when Gigantis died. That was when he finally caught sight of her and when he did he felt that which all thought he never could: fear.

Surrounded by branches and leaves, she was lying bleeding, bruised, & broken on the grass below a tree and although she was dying it was nonetheless a miracle that she was alive at all. What had happened was that after she leapt from the helicopter, she had used her telekinesis to slow her descent though if she had stopped to think about it she would have used it accelerate the fall and make her death as fast a one as possible. Yet unwilling to say die she had used all her power to stop and had crashed atop a large tree whose branches broke her fall. Even so her clothes were torn, bones were broken, she was lacerated and bloody all over, her spine was snapped, and it was only a matter of time before she died.

However, Godzilla saw that the one person that he truly loved was not alone in her hour of need; kneeling at her side atop the grass and broken branches was Kyle Martin. Hoping to find her as well, he'd managed to crash his escape pod in the park and had searched for her since he had done so. However it was seemingly in vain because he was too late to save her and could only comfort her unknowing form. Shaking in fear and whispering over and over, he held her hand as he rocked her back and forth.

He whimpered, "It's alright Miki, I'm here. C'mon, you gotta get up. I know you're hurt but we gotta get you to a doctor. We'll get a doctor and everything will be alright." He saw that she wasn't moving. He ran his hand across her broken head and across her blackened eyes and across her bloody lips and could barely feel a breath. "Miki?" He shook her and yelled "Miki!"

It was as this happened that Kyle saw a shadow come across him and across much of the land around him. He knew what it was and was not pleased so with that he gently laid Miki's head onto the ground before slowly turning around to face his foe. He craned his neck up to see Godzilla's one hundred-meter tall frame towering over him into the sky like a giant would stand over an insect yet this insect did not scurry about. It raged.

"You… you freak…! God damn you!" Still reeling at the thought of Miki being hurt, the King of the Monsters was stunned at what he heard. That he could hear it from as high as he was shock enough but more shocking still was that he could understand the angry, crying human's words. "You rat bastard! You dare show your face here after this? She loved you, God only knows why she did but she loved you. And what did you do? You killed her!"

At hearing this condemnation, Godzilla felt his jaw drop and everything turn upside down. Shaking in revulsion at the thought of the blood that was on his hands, at the thought of what he had done, he began to walk back. Knowing the King of the Monsters well enough to realize what was happening, Kyle pointed an accusatory finger the living mountain and screamed, "You're sorry? Do you think being sorry will bring Miki or anyone else you've killed back? These people are dead! They're dead and it's all your fault."

Consumed with remorse for what he had done, Godzilla covered his head. On seeing this Kyle shook his fist and screamed at the top of his lungs. " 'Wretch! It is well that that you come here to whine over the desolation that you have made. You throw a torch among buildings, and when they are consumed, you sit among the ruins to lament the fall. Hypocritical fiend!' Pity the poor monster, even as he goes and kills everything you hold dear? Never! Get out! I SAID GET OUT!"

Soon enough, the shaken and frightened monster walked away and went into the river. With that, he left the twilit city and the two people still there alone. Yes, beneath the tree and atop the grass Kyle was completely alone with Miki; there was thus no one there to hear him weep.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Fifteen

The people turned on their television sets and saw the woman whom they had come to trust as being the voice of the front. As she spoke, her viewers could hear a sense of urgency in her voice. "This is Connie Matsu live on the scene at New Orleans, Mississippi. For those of you just tuning in, we are here where a tremendous three on one battle was fought between Godzilla and the machines of Steel Reign II a short time ago. Despite the iron giants' best efforts, however, the King of the Monsters walked away the victor and, as you can see, the devastation wrought here is the like of which you'd expect from the walls of Jericho. But this didn't happened thousands of years ago, it happened today."

Miss Matsu's viewers watched her pause as she overlooked the city from the grassy hill she was on and she pointed to the military forces as they worked tirelessly to rescue the people they could. "From here you can see a tent city already being set up so that victims of the battle can be treated; sadly there isn't much that can be done. However, as terrible as the destruction was, it could have been even worse if not for Godzilla, of all things.

An image of Godzilla taken from the battle replaced the image of Connie Matsu, though she was still heard in the voice-over. "As you can see in this footage taken from military observers, the King of the Monsters is catching the falling upper half of a building and in the process is keeping it from crushing the humans seen below. This left him open to attack and we see in this footage that he was indeed ambushed while his attention was diverted. Why Godzilla did this we don't know and perhaps never will, but some people are suggesting that he actually did it with the intention of safeguarding human life. That claim however, cannot be proven."

The image returned to Miss Matsu and she turned her gaze towards the camera as she continued her dialogue. "Regardless of what really happened with Godzilla, it is over shadowed by a far more pressing concern. As we know, civilian casualties were astronomical in the course of the battle, despite G-Force's record of avoiding them. This is due to the fact that G-Force places the protection of civilians first at all times. Indeed, though there's been no official press release, it is rumored said that Commander Raschell of G-Force North America authorized this attack only after the US military told him that the city had been evacuated. It obviously was not.

"This has led to tremendous doubt in President Emmerich's leadership capabilities in addition to creating a credibility gap as a result of his being the one that personally assured G-Force North America that New Orleans was evacuated. It also raises the question of whether or not this will hamper war efforts. Indeed, the frustrated American public is outraged by what it perceives as an impotent and weak administration. As for Godzilla himself, we are uncertain of his whereabouts at this moment. The last confirmed sighting was when he slipped back into the Mississippi and, according to analysts, Godzilla could now have reached the Red River, Arkansas River, or the Gulf.

"What will happen next, is anybody's guess but it seems that the battle is over… for now."

"Can you hear me Miki? Are you there?"

Kyle looked at what felt like the thousandth time at the hospital room's wall clock and saw that in all the hours that he had spent kneeling at Miki's bedside, she had yet to show any signs of consciousness. He then apprehensively looked back at her and felt his stomach turn at the sight. She was covered completely in bandages and there were tubes coming out from every part of her body; at this point she looked to be in some living death. As was their purpose, the machines all around Miki continued their function and kept her from dying. As for Kyle, all he could do as he sat was listen to the beep that signaled she yet lived was pray to God that it wouldn't stop. He heard it again and again, beep, beep, beep.

He listened intently because he wasn't sure if Miki would live. The doctors were doing everything they could, everything from synthetic Solgel Island red water to psychic music but it wasn't enough. She was so badly injured that he'd heard the doctors of the military hospital whisper if they were even doing her a favor by saving her. She was in a coma and she might never wake up; even if she did, the injuries she received would be permanent.

However, he wasn't the only one that wept for Miki. His grandfather, Steven Martin, had come as had Tomas, Director Goodhue, Commander Aso, the Elias, and Professor Hayashida. They all wept for their dear friend. Kyle, however, had done more than weep.

Desperate to save the life of the woman he loved, he had used an experimental gene therapy based on research done by a scientist named Shinoda. It was research into Regenerator G-1, the technical name for the genetic code that allowed Godzilla to heal from any wound or disease almost instantaneously. Shinoda had suggested that if Regenerator G-1 could somehow be applied to humans that it could revolutionize medicine. However, it was just barely being made, not even the first lab animal tests had been conducted.

Not that Kyle had cared when he heard that it might save Miki's life.

In any case Kyle gently put his hand on her forehead and spoke with a broken voice. "It'll be OK, I'm here now Miki. You can beat this, you're a brave woman; I know you can win somehow, some way. You'll get better Miki, you gotta. We have our whole lives ahead of us. We'll laugh together, we'll work together, we'll make a home together, we'll have a family together, and we'll grow old together."

With that, he placed the diamond ring in her unfeeling hand and closed her hand around it. "I wanted to give you that ring for a while now. The first time was just before the Monster Wars began, back on Infant Island. My grandpa told me that I should just get the courage and ask the question; hey if I face down Godzilla for a living, then I should be able to do something this small right! I loved you since the first day that I met you and knew wanted to spend the rest of life with you."

That was when Kyle felt the tears come up again and he began trembling. "Oh Miki, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for everything. My God I can't believe what I almost did! You're the best friend anyone could ever have, and for a long time I was hoping that we might become more, that we might marry and be together forever… And since the Monster Wars began, I've been brushing you off and looking away. I promise that it's going to change, even if it means having to forgive Godzilla and… playing nice. Once you get better I'll get better too; I'll try. I promise…

"But if you don't…" At that Kyle withdrew his hands from Miki's and tearfully looked away. "But if you don't… then God and you forgive me because I'll kill that reptilian sumbitch, I swear! I'll kill Godzilla for what he's done to me… and to you." Fighting back a tear, Kyle ran a hand over Miki's forehead and said, "I promise."

For a time there was only silence as he contemplated what he said and realized how difficult it would be to keep that vow if worse came to worst. He was going to be court-martialed for what he had done, if he was lucky. Some people wanted him shot dead on the spot. But then he was already lucky just to be allowed to be with Miki for these few hours. Deep inside, Kyle somehow felt that he deserved anything that happened to him because he had not only jeopardized the entire mission but he had placed innocent civilians in danger as well. What was he doing? Had his grandfather been right all along in saying that all hate does is cause more pain?

However, those were questions to be answered another day because that was when a soldier opened the door to tell him that he had to leave. Kyle nodded his tear stained face and gave Miki one last kiss before slowly getting up from his knees and walking out the door.

With that the comatose Miki Segeusa was left alone on her hospital bed and on life support but if Kyle had remained but a short time longer then he would have seen an amazing sight. Desperate to save her life, he had demanded that Miki be given the Regenerator G-1 gene therapy. Regenerator G-1, more than anything else, was what made Godzilla all but invincible to human attack because it meant that any cut, any tear, any sickness would be undone in seconds. Shinoda was right in saying that it could revolutionize medicine for the better but was wrong in thinking that it would ever be used on any wide scale.

That was because of… side effects. What kind of side effects? They could never be predicted but they were always dangerous, or at least undesirable. This wasn't surprising; after all, the proposed Regenerator G-1 gene therapy meant grafting DNA from Godzilla, a giant monster, to human DNA. In theory, all it would do was temporarily give a human the King of the Monster's recuperative powers but in reality, his ever-altering genetic code meant that it would never be so simple.

In Miki's case, this lack of simplicity was seen when her eyes flew open and shone the color of gold, the same as Godzilla's eyes.

Some time later, Kyle Martin was put on trial for his actions in the New Orleans battle. At the moment, he had already been before the military tribunal for some hours now in the grim, dimly lit room and he had no hope of anything coming out in his favor. The court was really just a formality, a kangaroo court; with it being such an open and shut case, everyone knew that. Even with slight defense from Hayashida, Kyle's lawyer said as much. Truth be told, even Perry Mason himself couldn't have done anything more for him than plead insanity.

Seeing the severity of the situation of the trial, Comander Aso himself was there as the judge. He had had high hopes for Martin but now it seemed that those hopes were dashed. However it would not end there, looking at him in the courtroom he might have to deal with Raschell as well. "Kyle Martin, you have been told of the crimes of which you stand accused," said Aso. "As a result of these actions, the mechas called Red Ronin and MOGUERA, both essential to Monster Wars war effort, have been nearly destroyed thus ruining billions of dollars in investments and scrapping military plans. Also, a disastrous level of property damage was suffered and worst of all how your rash actions led to unacceptable civilian casualties.

"Oh, and to respond to what your lawyer said, although G-Force itself encounters 'considerable' collateral damage in fighting Godzilla and other kaiju, every step is always taken to prevent it. Quite the opposite with you where the audio and video tapes show you actually goading Godzilla to battle despite direct orders from your commanding officer, who has also served as a witness against you. Audio tapes, video tapes, eyewitnesses testimony from trained observers, do you have anything to say in your defense or should I just go and tell the warden to reserve a prison cell for the next one hundred years?"

Shame faced and silent, Kyle Martin looked around and saw the military men that were arrayed against him. With them were Director Goodhue and Hayashida, along with his friend Tomas Santos. As he looked into their angry, disappointed, and confused faces, Kyle fumbled for something, anything, to say in his defense but found that his mouth went empty. "I… I have nothing to say. I'm guilty."

Aso looked down from his judge's stand and scrutinized the accused with a raised eyebrow. "That's it? You're not even going to try to defend yourself?"

Silent, Kyle looked to the floor before answering. "No, sir. I did it and I know I have to pay the price."

The unforgiving Aso grew grim. "So you plead guilty. While I do feel some admiration for you in that you choose to accept responsibility for your mistakes, I'm sorry to say that it can do nothing to lessen your sentence. That being the case, the court has no choice but to declare you guilty and—what?" At that he saw his judge's gavel levitate from out his hand and hover for a time before settling down. A stunned look came across the faces of everyone in the room and Aso gasped. "Damn it Martin, if you did this as some cheap joke, I'll hold you in contempt!"

"Don't waste your time Commander, it wasn't him that did it." On hearing that, everyone in the courtroom turned the doors to see who said that and to their surprise it was Miki Segeusa. Out of her hospital gown and dressed quite fashionably, the apparently healthy psychic crossed her arms and smiled. "I was the one who did that Commander, with a touch of TK."

Kyle went to her and held her hands. "Miki, what are you doing here? Are you alright? You should be resting right now."

Seemingly at beyond full strength, Miki just laughed. "Oh Kyle, if you only knew what you were saying. I'm more that alright; I'm better than ever. A clean bill of health, 110%. Oh and as for how, Regenerator G-1 gene therapy really does work. It not only healed me up but it even got rid of a cold I was dealing with for weeks before! Oh and thanks for giving it to me."

Everyone looked at her in shock at what she just said to which she replied, "It also boosted my powers so I know what's going on but onto more important things."

She sat on a railing and crossed her legs as she contemplated her words. "Having been at Kyle's side for years, I know for myself that mistakes he can make and I can not deny that he stands guilty of what he has been accused. However, it's not as black and white as you might make it seem.

Miki sighed and hung her head. "The American campaign has been terrible, the New Orleans battle especially so. The civilian casualties were incalculable and every effort must be made to keep something like this from happening again.

"However, the real blame of that goes to President Emmerich with how he promised us that the city was evacuated." She then cast a disparaging look at one of the military men in attendance. "Part of that should also go to Commander Raschell for how he refused to call off the attack after I told him that there were still people in the city. And let's not forget the psychological risks involved in using psionc interface, it always raises the question of the pilot's actions. That was one of the reasons that Angela was never rebuilt and the main reason that there was opposition to using Red Ronin. Why, Hayashida himself warned that Kyle's past history with Godzilla might influence his actions and said that in this trail. If anything, it seems that UNGCC is just looking for a scapegoat and found one in Kyle.

"If there is anything that we must be careful of, especially in war, it's that we can't give in to hate. This is true even now and especially now. Kyle is guilty as charged, but it would be wrong to punish him beyond what his crime would demand. Considering the technical expertise he can offer, it would also be unwise considering the increasing shortage of manpower demands that we use every man we can find. I strongly suggest a lightening of sentence in dealing with Martin here Commander Aso."

On hearing that, the man fairly fumed because, as a military officer, he didn't take orders, he gave them. After all, he was the Supreme Commander of G-Force Alpha and since the Monster Wars began he had assumed command of all Earth armed forces battling King Ghidorah. He hated hearing this from anyone, especially coming from that leftist, monster coddling, bleeding heart, goody good. Sneering at Miki, he growled "And what if I refuse?"

Miki looked up to the judge's stand where Aso was. "Then I will leave G-Force now and forever."

At that, several men got up in protest to tell her that she couldn't do that and to be serious. Yet on seeing that she was serious, they begged her to reconsider; after all, she was the only one that could keep Godzilla in check or predict his next move. Kyle then walked up to her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "What the heck is going on? Do you have any idea what you're doing?"

Miki then put her hands on his arms and smiled. "I know exactly what I'm doing Kyle and I'm doing it for you. It's not over yet, we'll need everybody's help to defeat King Ghidorah and that means you. Besides, we have our whole lives ahead of us. We deserve the chance to be together, to laugh together, to grow old together, to live together, and to grow old together. And we can't do that if you're in prison!"

She then took his hands in hers and said, "I do this gladly for you Kyle, because I love you."

With that they both embraced one another and held each other tight. That was when they heard the judge's gavel pound and they both turned to see what was happening. Red faced and angry, Aso looked with a hateful expression at both Kyle and Miki. "Fine. Kyle Martin, you'll be on… parole until further notice, WITH constant supervision AND the removal of all privileges AND suspencion of pay AND whatever the hell else I can think of. As for you Miss Seguesa… there are other psychics in the world and I want you to know that if need be we could persuade the Elias themselves of our point of view. I had better not see an outburst like this ever again because if I do, I'll have you tried for treason and hanged!

"Understood?"

Solemn faced, she nodded. "Understood sir."


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Sixteen

Actually Miki had been lying to some degree in telling Kyle that she was at 110% back at the courtroom and Kyle would scold her for it. That she was alive at all was a testament to Godzilla's healing powers which she had been temporarily given but it would be wrong to believe that even his abilities could leave someone who had been on life support at full strength in a matter of hours. Even so, over the course of several weeks as she made her way to full recovery, Miki was poked and prodded by those doctors who had heard of Regenerator G-1 and wished to see the results on a human test subject; they were not disappointed. Although she had to rest for considerable time and spent several days in a hospital bed, she was healing faster than the doctors had ever imagined a human test subject could.

It was in this state that Miki used her expanding psychic powers to find the one who had done this to her. As always she sought a time when she would be alone and could concentrate her abilities; the dead of night past hospital closing hours was best. It was at this time in a dream that was not a dream that Miki left her body behind in order to find a monster just as she had done when she was a child some fifteen years ago. Now just as then, she found him.

Astrally projecting herself, she found Godzilla, utterly alone at the, dark murky bottom of the Illinois half of Lake Michigan. (If Steven Martin in Chicago only knew…) When he finally caught sight of her, he registered some mild surprise at the shimmering form of Miki that illuminated the lightless silt filled waters around his face. It was a very mild surprise, however, because he had seen that there were more things in heaven and earth than were dreamt of in a philosophy. What was she doing here, with him of all creatures?

Miki's glimmering astral form moved through the water effortlessly and caressed a hand over his huge eye. She then spoke, either by means of sound or thought, and the monster heard her. "I wanted to see how a friend was doing. Are you feeling well Godzilla?"

At that, the King of the Monster buried his head deeper into the lake bottom silt and created a cloud of silt that obscured everything. He had done that because he didn't want her to see him. For what had happened in the battle against Red Ronin, the shame he felt was immeasurable and the remorse was incalculable and so he hid himself. (Rather futile considering that she saw him by power of the mind.) How could she ask what she was feeling after what he had almost done to her?

"…Don't be so hard on yourself Godzilla; it's alright."

Alright? Alright? He had almost killed her and she was willing to just say that it was alright?

"Yes I am," said Miki as she let her thoughts wash over the monster and soothe his warring spirit. "I know that you didn't mean to hurt me and I know just how sorry you are."

How could she?

Miki smiled. "That's because in order to save me, 'evil' Kyle mingled your blood with mine so that your power to heal could be mine for one day. In addition to saving my life, it allows me to feel your pain and power as I could not before so I do in fact know how you feel."

She could see into his very soul, now could she? If so he could only wonder how she must cringe at what she saw.

Miki sighed; if anything she was the one who felt some measure of guilt for how the Project T1 transmitter was still on Godzilla's neck. Dear God in heaven, that day felt like it was centuries ago. "No Godzilla, I don't cringe. These are the Monster Wars and in war these things happen. I'm not saying that they're being accidents makes them any less wrong, or painful for those who lose a loved one, but its wrong to hate the soldier whose faulty aim strikes a bad target or the officer that gives a bad order."

She then let the words sink in. "It's wrong to hate."

"I don't hate you Godzilla just as I don't hate Kyle. When the other humans sought to punish him, I stood at his defense that he might be shown mercy and be given one more chance. He was wrong to let hate control him and drive him to do the things he did against you and the things he almost did to those poor people you managed to save. Like you, he acknowledges that he was wrong and, like you, deserves the chance to make up for it.

The King of the Monsters felt the hope in her voice at what she said next. "In saving those lives I think you might have already taken the first steps."

Perhaps he did save those lives but those lives wouldn't have been in danger if it hadn't been for the humans that had left them there in order to be destroyed. For some time he had been wondering if he had been wrong to hate the humans but after he saw that they were so debased as to leave their wounded behind to die all his old hatred was rekindled. They left their own behind just as he had been and by the very humans he almost died to protect at that. By the Great Tyrannosaur, how could he have been so deluded!

The dinosaurs whom he had been protected those millions of years ago had never committed such crimes. They had refrained from such things by the command of he who was father to all of them. By the Great One's law a dinosaur could only kill to eat or to keep from being eaten. All the scions of the saurian empire had kept that law and had prospered by it.

And now, thought Godzilla, because of his own inability to stop King Ghidorah 65,000,000 years ago, the world of the dinosaurs was dead and in its place was a world usurped by the same wretched mammals that had scurried at the dinosaurs' feet for more than a million centuries. These rodent spawns were freaks that would betray those who would die to protect them. Godzilla know realized that he indeed hated the humans, perhaps he always would, and that nothing could change that.

Miki felt her jaw drop as she heard this. "How can you say that Godzilla? Didn't you hear what I just said? It's wrong to hate. It's wrong to hate everyone for what a few have done just as its wrong to hate yourself the way you're doing right now. Gigantis and Blood Fang and Pretty Kill all loved you; they wouldn't want you to torture yourself like this… just as they wouldn't want you to become what you hate the most. You gave your all that day to save everyone and there's nothing more you could have done."

Godzilla all but rolled his eyes at that. Humans seemed determined to do "everything they could" in walking the path of madness. On seeing Miki's thoughts ever since he had first met her, his loathing for the mammals had only grown. Through her, he had seen their wars and genocides and holocausts. He had seen enough to know that the human race was arrogant and corrupt. Its final destruction was merely to be… postponed while he battled with King Ghidorah.

Miki felt her heart break as she psychically heard this. She had seen his thoughts and feelings over the course of the Monster Wars and had hoped that perhaps her long awaited dream might finally come true, that she might change him for the better. The Great Tyrannosaur had told her that hers would be the one to "wash his sins away," that she would change him. However, in this brief meeting, that hope was dashed. Though she had known him for just a few decades (considering that Godzilla had seen whole continents cross the globe, decades were indeed a short time), she knew that there was no reasoning with Godzilla when he put himself in such a mood.

This was especially sad because it was no longer misguided anger or despair that drove him on but rather his own self-loathing. Ever since King Ghidorah had returned, two hatreds had roiled in Godzilla's heart: hatred for the skyllan for what he did, killing his family, and hatred for himself in what he had failed to do, protecting his family. That was enough to drive any sentient being to the brink of madness yet now added to that cauldron was another thing, self-hatred for what he had done to Miki.

In a strange and confusing world, she was the only one that loved him… and he had almost killed her. What if you were to have left your father in the hospital, or your best friend in a coma? The pain would be unbearable and the only way for Godzilla to cope with his was to hide from his own mistakes, to not accept responsibility. With that and to loose his rage on all he saw and all that lived.

He had sworn the destruction of the human race and Miki had been there to hear it. Before now, before the Monster Wars, she had heard him make that vow but balancing it was the fact that there was one drop of goodness in him, that he would never hurt her and that he would not make war if she would wish it. That was gone now, not because he no longer cared for Miki; rather it was because he cared for Miki that that was so. The shame he felt for almost killing her was great and he was unable to face it; because of that he tried to bury it in false hate.

Miki knew all this along with how she knew that there was nothing more she could do. With that, she left that place and returned to her body. That night's excursion was quite exhausting and she would have to sleep for several days to recover her strength. Yet as she did so, the nurses saw that she suffered a restless sleep.

In a cold frozen place a little boy named Kenny woke up and began vomiting blood. Frightened, he began crying and whimpering. After wiping the vomit from his face and trying to dust off his short shorts, he looked up from his hands and knees to look about but he didn't recognize anything. The last thing he remembered was waiting in the apartment for his uncle and now he was gone… but where to! He didn't know and all Kenny could see were strange shapes in a thick white fog, all he could smell was a vile stink, and all he could feel were icky slimy things at the bottom of the fog. Confused, Kenny timidly touched whatever it was on the ground.

He picked it up and brought it before his face and saw that it was a human skull. At that, he screamed and fell back… much to the notice of two red eyes. Kenny did not see them but, terrified, he cried twice as loudly as before. Though he was a weak and cowardly child, he couldn't be expected to behave in any other way, not while there was a bloody skull from which bloody meat still hung on his lap. After crying for a good long while, Kenny got up, looked about and began walking on wobbly legs. He cried out in his high pitched whining voice but nobody answered.

Nobody answered except for a thing capable of giving a most hideous hiss.

Kenny whipped around on hearing that and was quickly paralyzed in fear. Afraid and confused, the boy didn't know what to do. He looked about and saw something in the shadows, something with six spindly legs and an ugly bulbous body. On seeing this thing, he ran as fast as his legs could carry him but that quickly proved to not be fast enough. The thing was soon joined by other things and they all moved through the mist and the shadows towards the tiny boy. As for the boy, he soon slipped and fell on the bloody bones that littered the ground, helpless prey for hungry hunters.

At that, the things, came out of the mist; they were a giant cockroach, a giant, beetle, and a giant mantis, all the size of elephants or bigger. Their mandibles clacked and drooled at the prospect of their first meal that the new master had promised and this sent the boy screaming. Kenny couldn't have known that he would be the first of thousands of children that would die like this, just as he didn't know that he was in some insane dome created by the evil King Ghidorah. He knew none of this, all he knew was that he felt a burning, lancing pain beyond all reckoning before eternal darkness.

As a storefront window shattered when a baseball bat struck it, the looter who wielded it dove in to pull out the television set inside. He did so greedily saying, "Come to papa!"

A distant siren suddenly blared. On hearing it, his partner in crime yelled from the car parked in a dark trash-strewn alley next to the store. "Forget bragging rights Dean, just put it in the car and let's get out of here."

Putting the television in the grimy trunk of the car, the man hurriedly looked at his friend in the driver's seat and smiled. "Relax Roland, ain't nothing gonna go wrong."

Roland nervously began scratching the rash that had spread across the entire face and anxiously gripped the steering wheel. "Yeah, well just get in before the cops or somebody come!"

With that, Dean ran to the door and opened it. As the two sped away, he cursed underneath his breath for the loss of his son, for the fact that he was going to die of whatever it was he and everyone else was sick with, and for the fact that it was seemingly the apocalypse. "Who cares. With King Ghidorah, it's the end of the world anyway."

Though a mere looter, Dean's sentiment was echoed by many a person of that tiny town because it proved to be a microcosm of the national situation in the widespread rioting and mass breakdown of law & order. It had been that way in the US ever since the arrival of King Ghidorah and had only grown worse after his battle with the Swarm. King Ghidorah had sent the Swarm on a psychotic rampage of total destruction and they spread death and despair and disease everywhere they went. Indeed, seeming as if the Bubonic Plague had returned, if the Taint with which King Ghidorah had poisoned the land with before was bad then the Taint he had the Swarm spread now was much worse.

Everywhere in Dean and Roland's madness and violence was the order of the day. Everywhere in the town, street gangs and ordinary people alike were stealing, setting fires, turning cars over, and worse. The National Guard had already been deployed in an attempt to quell the violence with orders of shoot to kill but it all seemed far beyond their ability to stop. Yet even with all that was happening, it would be wrong to judge these people too harshly, they were frightened and confused. And in addition to fear and confusion, the people were beginning to suffer from starvation and were already dying by the thousands every day due to King Ghidorah's disease like Taint that was spreading across the country.

The results of this fear confusion were seen quite well in one corner grocery store.

In that store chaos ruled. Sick and panicked shoppers there were frantically throwing everything they could into their carts; water bottles, meat, vegetables, canned foods, everything. People were screaming, that's my food, give me that medicine, or shut up or I'll kill you. At the checkout stand, the store owner grimly accepted the hundreds of dollars being thrown at him as his customers all but ran away with their hastily bought merchandise. He had told himself that he should be happy that he was making so much money—after all, raising the price four or six times as high was just a matter of supply and demand—but he was beginning to ask himself, what's money worth if its doomsday?

That was when news reports came through the radio that King Ghidorah had been sighted approaching the city. At that the people in the store screamed and stampeded out; in the overcrowded building, not a few people were crushed to death. Some just took their supplies and began running to wherever they could while others were thinking of people beside themselves. These others were seen to be parents because when they left their foodstuffs, they frantically ran screaming for their children. They would never see their children again.

In houses, in apartments, everywhere they slept that night, the pajama clad children of that city tossed and turned in the grip of nightmares. They woke up screaming, leapt out of their beds, and ran to the windows of their rooms where they saw for themselves that though they were awake, the nightmare hadn't ended. They saw this because a boogeyman was coming to get them. The shadow flew towards them but seemingly did not attack; instead it just passed by and caused no harm. Yet when their parents came and threw open the doors to their rooms they saw that their children were nowhere to be found. Instead, rooms were empty, windows were open, and a sad wind blew so many papers about.

This was what Belvera saw as she rode astride Garu-Garu. She rode through a window into a baby's nursery to see a grieving woman huddled in a corner, trembling and crying as she held a blanket; she was the mother no doubt. The eldest Elias had Garu-Garu land on the crib's rail at which she leapt off into a mass of sheets and pillows. Although she still projected a grim and cynical image of herself, Belevra's heart couldn't help but break on seeing the empty cradle. She felt a tear well up from her eye on seeing the crying woman and on touching the teddy bear larger than herself.

Whilst her sisters were helping Earth's monster allies—Mothra, Battra, Quetzalcoatl, Tuol, Yetrigar, Uchihikrah and Mechanstein—prepare for another round in the Monster Wars, Belvera had volunteered to serve as advance scout in the war effort. It had taken a personal turn when the domes had appeared for the domes signaled the death of innocence. The three-headed monster was a cruel beast that every so often robbed a world of its most precious treasure: its children. Though Salno had warned G-Force that this might happen, it hurt just as much now that he was doing it here on Earth. As children were born so rarely to the Elias race, it had been especially hard for the three sisters and it made hatred burn that much more fiercely in Belevra now.

This tragic scene was repeated over and over across towns and cities and by the end of the Monster Wars, it would be repeated across the globe. The only thing to compare was the rash of spontaneous human evaporations back in the 1892 but this time it was far worse. This time, children were stolen away in the dead of night and their families wept on learning it the next morning.

The men and women of G-Force didn't say why this was happening or where the children were being taken. They lied because they knew; they knew that the children were being teleported to the domes spread out across the Midwest to serve as food for King Ghidorah's armies. The men and women knew this or thought they knew this but they were wrong. As with Belvera, all those that had lost a child knew the real truth.

King Ghidorah had taken the children to make their parents grieve.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Seventeen

At Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, Colorado, which was temporarily serving as G-Force North America HQ, Miki was worried. Despite the fact that she had yet to fully recover from her injuries, she didn't think of herself. Even with all nations of Earth standing united, even with help from Mu and others, even with seven guardian monsters, the fight against King Ghidorah was growing darker and darker every day and there seemed to be no end in sight. The Prince of Skyllans had been dangerous enough but now the Swarm had joined his side to make a greater threat than ever before. She remembered how it was before the Monster Wars began; the Elias had told her that she was to be the one that would "save the world."

The idea that she could "save the world" was one she now had a tough time believing. When she first joined G-Force and UNGCC she had been a young idealistic child who thought that all was good in the world. After what she had seen over the years, she had grown increasingly disillusioned but had chosen to never loose hope in the final victory of the right. But with the Monster Wars and the seemingly impossible mission the Elias gave her she was now beginning to lose hope even in that. "Save the world," could it be done?

She didn't know any more. She didn't know any more of that than if she could bring Godzilla back from the dark path that he had now chosen. She didn't know and accepted that only God knew.

What Miki did know right now, was what she was seeing. Right now she was looking through a window to see UNGCC technicians in the lab working on UN super weapons. After scanning back and forth, Miki managed to catch a glimpse of Kyle helping out; he was evidently taking time out from his repairs to MOGUERA. Although the two super-vehicles that combined to make MOGUERA would soon be fixed, it was unknown when their ability to combine and bring forth the super-robot would be restored. Until then, the Monster Wars would be more difficult than ever.

This was only part of his punishment; slaving away in the lab and doing paperwork like some desk jockey. Until otherwise stated, Kyle was not only stripped of all rank and privilege, he was also forbidden any field assignments given by UNGCC. While Kyle could indeed be a lab rat, one of his chief joys was to actually be able to test his creations himself. This was then a harsh punishment for one so accustomed to fighting the good fight as was Kyle but in the eyes of those who had seen what had happened between him and Godzilla, it was too good for him.

In any case, Kyle, at the moment, was helping out on Project T and adapting it to King Ghidorah. It had originally been made with the intent of bringing Godzilla under control and the first field tests showed that it did indeed work. Further adjustments would have been needed to forever control the King of the Monsters yet they were not made because the day after that first test, the Monster Wars began.

Seeing what they were up against, Hayashida had suggested adapting Project T for King Ghidorah. It could theoretically work and even though it would be very dangerous, it was worth a try. Or so Hayashida had said. As UNGCC's premier psychic and as the person with the most experience with monsters and the Project, Miki knew that she would be the one to enter King Ghidorah's mind. It wasn't something she looked forward too because she still remembered what had happened to other people that had tried to probe the demon's mind; they were all either dead or insane.

But she knew she had no choice; no matter what the cost to herself, she would have to try. Lives were at stake and people were counting on her so as surely as the Elias had given her the mission, she had to try.

It was as she was contemplating these thoughts that something entered her mind unbidden. At that point, Miki gasped as a new and horrible vision filled her mind, a vision so horrible that she cursed her powers. Knowing that this future would have to be prevented at all costs, she ran to find, Commander Raschen. For the sake of Earth itself, Miki knew she just had to try.

Things like that kept the people elsewhere at the Denver base in a state of constant worry. That was certainly the case with Commander Raschen at least. He was at his desk at the temporary HQ looking over the latest reports and was disturbed to not find so much as one bit of good news. All his years doing battle with Inagos and his Swarm were now seemingly for nothing with how King Ghidorah was using the Swarm to sow destruction and spread his Taint.

Every report he looked over showed defeat after defeat in the battles with the insect giants and with the Taint Plague even those places untouched by the monsters were suffering. A man would think that the demon was a living cancer. (There was an exception to the despairing situation in one battle that gave his forces a badly needed victory in the Texas panhandle. Hopefully, a strike currently underway in Tennessee at one of the largest of King Ghidorah's domes would repeat the miracle.)

He then pulled open his desk and looked over documents that predicted the US would suffer massive food shortages in a matter of months if the Swarm's destruction of the Midwest grain fields wasn't soon stopped. (As if that wasn't enough with the Taint plague that King Ghidorah was spreading.) With food prices going up every day, this was bad news gone worse. Food, the mere thought of it left him hungry and his stomach growled to prove it. Raschen then checked the paperwork to see if there was anything pressing and, knowing that he had to go get something to eat, got up to go to the cafeteria.

It seemed odd that he would go to the mess hall to eat like a common soldier when he could have food sent to his quarters but he wasn't in the mood to do that. On getting his food he went to the nearest bench and began eating. That was when Colonel McDonough sat down opposite to him and said, "Hello sir. You feeling OK?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm feeling as well as any man in my position can be expected to. But considering that I'm being blamed for the destruction of the United States and I'm being held personally responsible for the New Orleans incident along with Emmerich, I can't be expected to feel all that well."

With that rebuke, Colonel McDonough grew silent and looked at his feet. It was remarks like these—"maybe if we shot him with a mega-dose of horse tranquilizer"—that left many people asking why he ever made it to the rank of major, let alone rise past it. The red headed man nervously looked around before responding to his commander. "Well sir, it can't be all that bad. We can beat those bugs like we did in the Swarm Wars. You did it before and you can do it again."

The Commander sighed at his old friend and shook his head. "Yeah but this time around, we have Godzilla and King Ghidorah to put up with, not to mention the Swarm wanting to kill every man and woman and child in sight."

McDonough looked away from the television set in the mess hall and sighed. "You might have a point. You already heard the latest reports; now it's on TV news."

At that both men looked to the screen where they saw a reporter for CNN saying that King Ghidorah had passed over Des Moines, Iowa, and had teleported all individuals under the age of fifteen to one of several domes spread out across the Midwest. Salno, the Muvians, and the Elias had told them that the three-headed monster was taking the children to strange domes to serve as food for the Swarm. The two military men heard and were disgusted; it was despicable.

Commander Raschen slammed his fist on the table and angrily picked at his food. "I wonder if those people even know what we're risking for their sakes. We're putting our lives on the line for them and all they seem determined to do is tear another strip off us. I mean, nobody said war is easy and they expect not a single soldier or civilian to die. And here in the US it's doubly hard with people ranting about how I've gone and 'taken over as part of a one world government.' Or how I've gone on to 'bully the poor Secretary of Defense and poor Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.' What kinda bull is that! That's not to mention how monster battles aren't human battles."

McDonough nodded at the last comment. Civilians sometimes asked if kaiju should be easier opponents than human armies because of how the entire "enemy force" was simultaneously concentrated into a large target in a relatively tiny strike range. While that was true, it also meant that if the monster escaped from the army then the war would have to start all over again from scratch and it also meant that the monster was impossibly fast when compared to an armed force of equal destructive power. By the time a strong enough force was brought to the battlefield the monster might have long since gone. That, or that a strong enough force might never be put together in time to stop it. Case in point was what happened next.

Commander Raschen was just beginning to eat when an aide came running into the mess hall yelling his name. "Commander! Commander!"

His leader wiped off his mouth and looked up from the table. With a concerned look on his face, he asked, "I'm here soldier. What's the matter?"

"Sir, King Ghidorah is heading towards the Plasma Power Plant and he's out for blood!"

"What!" Commander Raschen got up from the table in shock. "King Ghi- Did you say that the goddamn monster is in Kansas?"

"Yes, sir. We heard it from Miss Segeusa first and we've confirmed it by satellite."

The man swore. He then turned to ask McDonough "Do we have any troops in that area?"

The Colonel shook his head. "We only have a small guard, sir; we don't have any thing else there."

On hearing that, Commander Raschen gnashed his teeth. Why hadn't Emmerich listened when he had told him that that plasma plant might attract monsters? Though he knew that he would be too late to do that or the next thing, he gave orders to have all people evacuated from that area of Kansas and to scramble troops to the area from the base. No matter how impossible, he couldn't let the power plant be destroyed because if it were then the Monster Wars might be over in one stroke.

The Plasma Power Plant, or the P3—original thought wasn't Emmerich's strong point—, was very similar to a fusion power plant but much more advanced; it was to fusion what to fusion was to fission. It had been theorized that once plasma production was perfected, it could be the perfect energy source; it was pollution free, self sustaining, and cheap to make. However, it was still a long way from being perfect and Emmerich's power plant had been protested from the beginning. It had been protested because not only was it still in the experimental stages, but also because UNGCC scientists had said that since plasma was processed and refined radiation, it would be a magnet for the radiovorous kaiju.

That and because if ever exploded it would mean a burst of energy unseen since time began.

There were always fears that a monster might attack it and cause that explosion. Despite repeated protests by Commander Raschen to not even activate the reactor, the President had gone ahead, refusing to shut it off and refusing to let more than a handful of troops be stationed there. Very soon, the whole of North America would go on to regret President Emmerich's decision because King Ghidorah was there to destroy the Plasma Power Plant.

The Prince of Skyllans rained down his Gravity Beams across the fields and made the ground explode as he flew towards the main processing unit. The soldiers stationed there desperately opened fire with their rifles at their foe but of course, this pathetic gesture was not nearly enough. Neither wishing to be disturbed nor not wanting to waste his energy on microbes, the demon drove them mad with the Fear. Now he was all alone to wreak his wicked schemes.

King Ghidorah had sensed P3 months before shortly after his battle with Rodan & Fire Radon and ever since he had sought to destroy it; on seeing where it was, he had sought to destroy it even more. He had seen that the inhabitants of Earth were carbon based life forms requiring the ingestion of other carbon based life forms for energy just as he absorbed various wavelengths of light and radiation for his life functions. He had known this about the humans, about how they had to survive, ever since the first time he came in the times of the Ancients.

He had also seen that P3 was located in a place that gave the humans much of their ingestible carbon based energy sources, what they called "food." It seemed that Lucifer was smiling on King Ghidorah for the monster knew what could happen. Having been programmed with knowledge enough of destruction to know the explosion he would cause and the effects, King Ghidorah hovered motionlessly over the Plasma Power Plant and glowed as he charged his Gravity Beams. Then with a blinding speed and an irresistible force he fired a combined Triple Beam at the main reactor beneath him.

A fact about King Ghidorah, was have explosions=will travel. This was seen before in Egypt and was repeated in America now. Beams were fired from three mouths and onto one target and then everything bleached out and went silent. Yes, King Ghidorah made it all go white in the grain fields of Kansas… the grain fields that gave the humans their food. What did this mean? It meant that King Ghidorah would soon have the answer to a question that he screamed in his head. He would see what the humans do when they have no sustenance!

Though they had been slowed in their mission since they had sky dived from the plane by the monstrous insects that guarded the dome, they were now going through the ruined woods of a dead forest in east Tennessee and were now reaching their target. They looked around ready at the slightest sign to unload the fury of their Rolisican made maser rifles; fortunately, there was nothing to shoot. For now the Lagos Platoon, named for Japan's WWII Lagos Garrison, was on a scouting mission to see what there was to be done. Each member of the Lagos Platoon was the equal to a Navy SEAL or an Army Ranger; they were trained to be the best and brightest that either the DFE or G-Force had to offer. (They were certainly, at the least, better equipped.) That was seen in how they had already blazed through the Swarm insects that had stood in their way to get were they were now.

Their commander, Lieutenant Santos, led them near the top of a hill and told them to stop. While he had been "kicked up stairs" with his being chosen to command MOGUERA, the machine was currently inoperable and if there was ever a time his old buddies in the Lagos Batallion needed him, it was now.

He looked around at the 40 men under his command and saw them place fresh energy cartridges into their maser rifles or adjusting the mini cams mounted on their helmets now that they had the chance. This wasn't like when the Platoon had gone to Infant Island; this time it was life and death and this time his battle hardened men were armed with the best and ready for anything. Santos then checked into base camp and was told that he and his men were less than a mile from the target zone. With that he nodded and turned to his men.

"Alright men. We're on scouting patrol here because we're the best and nobody else that came here came back alive from the domes. This is an important mission and we might only have one chance. Now listen up to Epiphanes."

A dark-skinned Asian man at the lieutenant's side dressed in army fatigues nodded. "Thank you, sir. Men of the Lagos Platoon, my name is Neo Icon Epiphanes of Mu. As you know, my Emperor put me at your leader's disposal in order to fight our common enemy because, in addition to being the finest tracker of my people's armies, I have also studied much of the past crimes of the demon we face. As you know, soon after King Ghidorah drove the Swarm to madness, strange domes appeared and children began to disappear. According to records given to the Ancients by alien visitors, King Ghidorah has likely placed the children in these domes and in all probability they are there to serve as food for his Swarm.

"We must confirm this, find any weakness to exploit against him, and, if at all possible, save the children. At your leader's command, I will guide you as best I can." He saw Santos nod. "Come with me."

They followed Epiphanes up over the hill to see the enemy base and were horrified by the sight. It was a slimy, veined, perfectly shaped dome seemingly made of bloated, quivering flesh; it was a dull yellow and grew up from the burnt, blasted ground as if it were a pustule. The soldiers listened to what Epiphanes had to say, that King Ghidorah had made it with his own power, to watch for tentacles that lashed out, and to follow him closely. They would have to lest they be spotted either by the dome or monstrous insects that buzzed around it as if it were a hive.

Even so as they saw the seventy plus meters tall dome, the men looked on in fear as they began to realize just what it was they were up against. Despite this, they forced themselves to regain their composure as they stealthily walked towards their target, ducking behind charred, dead trees and broken, scattered rocks as they did so.

As they approached they began to see the tentacles were indeed waving about at random places on the dome; any one of them could drag them in. Looking as they were at such a sight, it could perhaps be pardoned that they noticed that the sky was turning red only after they saw the green snow drift down in front of them. On seeing this, Lieutenant Santos stopped his men and motioned for them to follow him behind a string of large boulders. On seeing the concerned looks on his men's faces, he realized that he wasn't the only one concerned at what was going on.

Looking up in the sky at the green, and now glowing black snow, Santos turned to Epiphanes and asked, "Snake boy… do you have any idea at what's going on?"

Though he slightly bristled at the jab at his god, Manda—as a boy, he had been an altar server in the Temple of Manda—Epiphanes restrained himself. However he just as quickly grew alarmed at what he realized was happening around them and spoke. "I can tell with my ability to sense and see energy that this is not something from the demon's Dome but rather some form of radioactive fall out."

After a cursory scan of the surroundings to see that nothing had snuck up on them, the Lieutenant asked his guide, "Fallout? But from what? There aren't any nuclear power plants in the area and nukes were outlawed against King Ghidorah. What you're saying doesn't make any…" At that he trailed off and eyes that had steeled themselves against the horrors of war went wide open in fear.

His voice almost shaking, his gaze locked onto Epiphanes. "What kind of fallout? The kind from a nuclear explosion… or a plasmatic explosion?"

The Muvian tracker fought back a gasp at the implications of this and hurriedly focused all his senses at the sky. His eyes went blank and with that he turned towards the heavens and let the "snow" touch his skin. Epiphanes weakly nodded and the men under Santos' command looked to their leader. He looked back at them and, though he whispered "Clavos de Cristo," he forced himself to weakly smile. He then shouted, "Nothing to worry about men, just some stunt by that kaiju."

Well trained as they were, the men of the Lagos Platoon had some suspicion of what was really happening. The lot of them knew that their commander was lying to them but they chose to use the lie as a tranquilizer for themselves. They returned their leader's nod and followed when he beckoned for them to keep going. They soon saw that they had no choice but to keep going when they felt the ground shake beneath them and saw a colossal beetle as big as a two story building burst from the soil. They all saw it charge them, ready to kill.

They scrambled forwards and, not losing their heads for an instant, opened fire with their maser rifles. The combined firepower quickly brought down the dinosaur-sized insect to the ground with a monstrous thud. Though injured, it got up and raised its massive claw to kill them all; it was a mistake because two well placed shots sent the claw flying. With that, a cryo-grenade was thrown and exploded, encasing half the monster in ice. Seeing that it couldn't even hold the insect long enough for them to get away, Lieutenant Santos charged his rifle and fired an energy burst that finished it off immediately.

That was none to soon because with that a terrifying, screeching sound filled the air. It was like some odd whistle or howl. The men of the Platoon scanned the area, unsure of that they were looking for but ready to destroy it on first contact. Though Santos, like his men, had charged his weapon to attack the new enemy something kept scratching at the back of his mind as he tried to remember just what the eerie sound was. He knew that he had been taught to remember it in basic training back when he joined G-Force. Suddenly, his eyes went wide open and he cursed as realized what it was. "It's Them!"

As if on cue, the horde of elephant sized ants tore themselves from the ground on hearing Santos' yell and rushed them. With that, the Lagos Platoon ran towards the Dome, firing their maser rifles and throwing their cryo-grenades as they went. Ant after ant was killed instantly but what they lacked in strength, they more than made up for in sheer numbers. Marching over the bodies of their sisters, the things came at the men like some tidal wave, coming closer and closer and ready to kill.

As for their victims, the Lagos Platoon was determined that if they were to die than that it wouldn't be without a fight. Yet the dome quickly began to loom over them like some baseball stadium and there was less & less space to run as they approached it. Santos looked to the sides and saw that the monster ants were crawling from the ground; there was no way out with how the monsters were coming in from all sides. It looked like it was all over.

That was when dozens of intestine-like tentacles shot out and entwined their targets in their slimy grip. The men struggled against their hot wet stink but it was not enough and they were quickly overpowered. One by one the brave soldiers were dragged in and though he was the last, their Lieutenant was taken in as well. For a time, everything seemed to spin and to seem a blur, but soon enough everything became clear again, much to their Platoon's chagrin, though, on seeing their surroundings.

When the men regained their senses they saw that the tentacles had dragged the inside the dome and were appalled by it. They immediately felt their eyes water and began to cough at the reeking, burning white fog that blanketed the ground and rose up high. The stench was overpowering and was mixed with a smell that no soldier hopes he has to know: decaying human flesh. They immediately got their gas masks out but one private wasn't fast enough and threw up at the stink. Soon enough, however, they began shaking with coldest cold they had ever felt.

The ground and the surroundings were like something from a Fritz Lang film in the insane angles and the jagged edges everywhere. The men of the Lagos Platoon that had thought that they had seen it all found themselves speechless at the sight of a place that looked like the ocean had flash frozen over in a matter of seconds. It was like some Arctic cavern or a vast glacier but it was more. There were spires and waves and dips and icicles and buttes and plateaus and pillars and trees of ice seen in the distance through the mists.

After getting nothing but static from his communicator, Lieutenant Santos turned to Epiphanes and asked through his gas mask, "The radio to HQ is dead. Any idea on what this is?"

The Muvian guide nodded. "From the looks of things we're inside the dome. I can't say more than that; hardly anyone that goes into these things comes out."

The son of the Secretary General smirked. "We're going to get out and we're going to do it with those kids."

That was when they heard the children crying.

Startled at that, Lieutenant Santos and his men ran over the slippery surface towards where they had heard the sound. Following their commander's lead, the men had their weapons drawn and were ready for anything. Nevertheless, the cry of the children grew louder as they drew closer and they quickly found the target. Yet on seeing it, the battle hardened men felt their hearts go out to them.

There were scores, perhaps hundreds, of children there. Some were naked and some were clad in rags. They were scarred, bloody, bruised emaciated little urchins that looked as if they had just come from a Stalin era gulag or a Nazi death camp. (Truth was they were in the death camp right now.) They looked at the men there with glassy sunken eyes and drunkenly staggered towards them on stick thin wobbly legs.

Santos looked at them and turned to his men. "Get your rations and first aid kits out. See what you can do for them but have your weapons ready at all times. We don't know what might be here." On hearing that there would be food, the starving children swarmed the men savagely tearing away any scrap of food that could be found. As for the men of the Lagos Platoon, they let the food be taken from them, the children needed it more than they. As the children gorged themselves on the food given them, despite the medic's orders for them to eat slowly, they continuously scratched and begged for more.

After waiting for a time, the Lieutenant looked at them and spoke as loudly as he could. "Kids, my name is Lieutenant Tomas Santos. We're been looking for you and are here to save you. My soldiers and I have come to get you out of here and home to your families. We've given you food and now if you stand there we'll give you medicine to make you better." The children numbly did as they were told and formed a circle around the Platoon's medical officer.

Santos nodded his approval and continued. "Now, I know this might be hard, but I want you all to tell me what happened."

"I'll tell you what happened," said an older, Asian boy. He stepped away from the circle of children awaiting medical treatment and limped towards the military officer. On seeing this, Epiphanes went towards him and helped him walk. "You can take off your gas masks; it may stink here, but its not poison gas."

Santos nodded and took off his mask; his men followed suit. It would be unfair for them to shield themselves like that while those kids couldn't. He put his hand on the boy's shoulder and asked "Alright son, what's your name?"

"My name is Shota."

He placed a hand on the grimy boy's shoulder. "Shota, that's a nice name. Do you know if there are anymore children here?"

He shook his head. "No, I'm sure this is all of us. I had them all come together when we saw that you were coming."

The Lieutenant nodded and smiled. "That's good. Can you tell me how you got here? Can you tell me what you've seen?"

Shota nodded. "My brother, Tamako, and my sister, Wakaba, and I were going to school and it was OK. Then, we heard that King Ghidorah was coming and we ran for our lives; we all knew that he steals children. I went looking for Tamako and Wakaba but before I knew it, we were… evaporating. We all just disappeared… I don't know how else to explain it."

"How long have you been here?"

"I don't know days… a week maybe."

Lieutenant Santos nodded. "What about you brother and sister? Can you tell me what happened to them?"

At that Shota began to fight back tears. "Yeah, they… they were killed."

"Oh, I'm… sorry. I want to ask a few more questions, can you do that?"

Drying his tears away, Shota nodded. With that, the Lieutenant continued his inquiry. "How did they die?"

At that, the boy's face turned into a hideous grimace and he bit his lip. Even so, he forced himself to continue. "They were eaten. If you need any proof, just look below the fog and you'll have it."

Steeling himself for whatever he might find, Santos nodded and waved the fog from the ground. As he did so he saw that the ground was littered with decaying, half eaten bodies. Though the man had known ahead of time what to expect, it didn't make it any easier to see. He waved away more fog still and saw that the icy ground was littered with gnawed arms, pulpy legs, bloody heads, and viscera of all description. "The insects of the Swarm did this, didn't they?" He saw the boy nod.

Shota then said, "We don't know when they'll come next. They come whenever they want to kill whoever they want. The monsters mostly come at night… mostly."

Santos couldn't believe it; from the bodies that littered the ground, he could only assume that hundreds of children had already been killed. He didn't know what was going to happen next but he knew that at least the children still there with him we're going to make it out. "Shota, you say that you might have been here a week. Can you tell me where the nearest wall is?"

"Sure but what's that going to do?"

"I'm going to tear it down."

Lieutenant Santos & his men brought the children with them to the nearest wall and they surveyed it. "Epiphanes, in coming here, Shota said that anything that touched the wall was destroyed. In the briefing I heard that heat and cold could bust the wall. That right?"

After breaking off a piece of ice and seeing it vaporize on hitting the veined, yellow, pulsating wall, the Muvian scratched his head. "The old records we have on the demon suggest that a combination of heat and cold might be able to break that barrier. Your weapons combined should be able to do it especially with how they've been reconfigured with data from Professor Rosalinda on the demon."

"Only one way to find out." Santos nodded and turned to the children. With a smile he said, "Don't worry, we're going to get you out." His men then followed his lead as he switched the maser rifle from rapid fire to continuous beam. They opened fire at the wall with regular maser beams, superheating it as they did so, even as others used the freezer beam option of their weapons. The light from the beams illuminated the dark and the attack was seemingly working as the wall bucked and swayed at this; however, this would not go unnoticed.

Soon enough, tentacles shot out from the wall but the burning beams quickly severed them. More and more came and some indeed managed to grasp and strangle the people there. Then hearing a buzz, Santos turned to see a fly streaking towards them ready to kill. One cryo-grenade later and it fell to the floor in a block of ice.

Now knowing that the giant insects could come at any moment, the Platoon stepped up their attack. The combination of heat and cold quickly began to work its magic as bits and pieces of the wall began to flake off; it began to shred and crumble and crack. As if protesting this, the whole dome began to shake and quake and a black burning ooze began to flow out through random. Like acid it scorched everything it touched and the children there began screaming.

Shota then heard a sound that had already burned itself into his mind and whipped to around to face the Lieutenant. "Mr. Santos, it's the monsters! They're coming to get us!"

The man swore under his breath and yelled at some of his men to break off their assault on the wall and for the children to come as closely as they could to him. With that the soldiers turned their maser rifles back to rapid fire and braced for battle. They also began to hear the enemy but they held their fire, waiting for the whites of their beady compound eyes. With that something lanced out of the darkness and captured one of the men. They immediately opened fire in that direction and heard a monster's death squeal. Epiphanes put a fresh energy pack into his chargeless weapon and said, "Santos, you better finish the wall!"

"I'm working on it Neo!"

But it wasn't enough. The men there, firing with everything they had, had only so much power to feed into their weapons and there were so many monsters coming. Like a scene from one of Sigourney Weaver's "Alien" movies, the giant insects threw themselves in suicidal charges, determined to kill them all and were, bit by bit, wearing the human defenders down. Captured humans would kill themselves and their attackers with point blank range charged shots from their weapons but such sacrifices were quickly becoming useless. The platoon's supply of energy cartridges for their maser weapons and their supply of cryo-grenades were quickly running out; there seemed nothing left to do.

It seemed as if all was lost when Santos and his men finally managed to tear a hole in the wall of the dome. Though already severely injured, he screamed his orders over the din of battle. "We've busted through! Everyone out! Kids first!" On seeing their chance, terrified children ran for their lives. "Kids get ou—AAAHHH!"

With that, the Lieutenant fell to the ground in agony and clutched his back. Knowing blood by the feel, he instinctively tore out a stinger that one of the insects had shot at him and with that uttered a howl of fury. Gone berserk, he opened full fire at the insects his men were holding at bay. The Lagos Platoon needed that because it was quickly being overwhelmed.

Throwing a cryo-grenade, Epiphanes yelled, "We won't be able to hold them back much longer!"

"We'll hold them back as long as it takes!" yelled back the drunken and wounded Santos as he blasted down row of insects with his rifle on beam mode.

"But we're running out of time! The door can close at any moment! You have to go now!"

"It's not over yet!"

"Yes it is," said Epiphanes. With that, the Muvian soldier raised his weapon and brought it crashing down on Lieutenant Tomas Santos. Knowing that the man had to survive but that he was a man ready to die with his men, the Muvian told the soldier nearest him, "Get him out of here now! Everyone else, get out and leave me. That's an order!"

Remembering that Epiphanes had been made their second in command, they did as they were told. The remaining soldiers of the Lagos Platoon ran out from the dome as fast as they could, carrying their leader with them. They did that even as Epiphanes fired away with guns blazing against the monster insects, two maser rifles in each hand, to cover their escape. It was harder than it looked for the men of the platoon because the hole that they had blasted open was getting smaller by the second. A self-healing wall will do that.

To silence he who had killed so many of them, an elephant sized bombardier beetle fired a stream of acid that nearly killed the Muvian guide, though the beetle itself was killed by one final shot. The man fell down screaming and writhing in agony as the acid burned through his clothes and his skin.

By then, the last of the Platoon was out and the monster insects were trying to pursue them out of it. Gasping for air as he did so, the dying and disfigured Neo Icon Epiphanes screamed, "Get back here you worthless maggots!" As if they could understand him, the monstrous insects, ants, beetles, flies, mantids, wasps, all looked at him. "You want a fight come here!"

The monster insects came to him as if they knew what he was saying. However, they could not have known what he was doing. At that moment, the man from Mu was on his knees and placing all his remaining energy cartridges into a pile and aiming his maser rifle at them. On seeing that some insects were forcing their way through the opening at the wall to kill the now helpless Platoon and the children under their protection, Epiphanis said, "You're not going to kill my friends."

With that he aimed at the energy cartridges and pulled the trigger. "See you in hell."

It was at that moment that Santos was beginning to regain consciousness, despite the burning pain in his back, and on seeing that explosion he knew what had happened. All the insect monsters that had been trying to kill them had been destroyed and any others trying to get at them were already too late for the dome had closed. Lying on the ground and fighting back the tears he knew he couldn't shed before his men, the Lieutenant sat up and turned to the soldier nearest him. "Status."

"The kids are all present and accounted for; they all made it out OK. The perimeter is secured and there aren't any bugs in the area. We've already arranged for an airlift; Tsujimori and the Gryphon is going to pick is up, sir."

The platoon commander looked to the freed children and let himself smile. They were safe, that was the most important thing. However, the Lieutenant's smile left him when he chose to ask the next question. "Casualties."

"The kids are ok. As for us, its heavy; we're down to eighty percent. Epiphanes didn't make it out. I'm sorry sir."

"Clavos de Cristo…" With that, Santos tried to stand up but as he did so he doubled over in pain. Worried, the men around him laid him to the ground on his belly. With that, they tore open his shirt and saw just how deep the gory and bloody back wound was. The injured area was purple and the ugly discoloration was beginning to spread; it was a sign of poison.

The medic winced as he saw this and injected him with a large dose of anti-venom and quick healing Solgel Island red water. "Don't worry sir. We'll get you back on your feet in no time."

Remembering that he still had a war to fight Santos said through tired breaths, "You better."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 18

It was a town like any other. It could be my town or your town, your cousin's town, any place. That is what made what was happening there all the more frightening, that it could be anywhere and the sad fact is that it was happening everywhere. The only catastrophe that could compare to what had happened to this nameless town, and that was happening to the rest of the world for that matter, was the Black Death that swept over Europe back in the Dark Ages. This time, however, it was far worse.

It was night in the town and few lights were lit to dispel the gloom. Indeed, amidst a night that still rained dust from the Kansas explosion, the darkness seemed to be all encroaching and nothing but the few street lamps that were still standing was there to shed light. Building after building was destroyed, either ruined or smashed flat into so much flaming rubble, while the roads were torn up. Amidst the rubble were two mammoth dismembered corpses; a kaijuologist would have recognized them, or their scattered remains as belonging to the undead cyborg, Mechanstein, and the astronaut turned monster, Uchihikrah. Fighting against their cursed foe across America since the beginning of the US campaign, these two friends had finally paid the ultimate price. The only survivor of this battle was Yetrigar and Salno had barely been able to call him back so that he might live to fight again.

With the town serving as a microcosm, it almost seemed as if the entire world had died and that there was only one man left alive. This nameless man was traveling through an especially ruined part of town, leaving tracks in the ankle deep dust where he walked; where he passed, there were no fires. No, there were no fires here; instead, there was only the silence of the dead, a silence broken by his loud wretched voice.

He was the only person still alive in the town though you couldn't really call the condition he was in "alive." Ugly, deformed, toothless, unwashed, and dressed in rags, the man just kept walking through the streets while dragging a cart behind him, muttering all the while. Looking through the darkened night, he shivered in the cold air, but he just kept walking along the road and dragging his cart. That's all he did, walking and dragging, dragging and walking. He was alone and there was no movement save for the occasional newspapers and leaves that blew past him or an empty soda can that he kicked.

That was when he came across a body.

The wandering man saw that the body was curled up on the broken sidewalk and with that he left his cart to go up to it. The man nudged the person. There was no response. The man tried again and again there was no response. He turned the person over and saw, as if the person had died of fright, that the face was a hideous mask of horror. Well, what little there was of the face anyway. As the wanderer dusted the man off, he saw that the poor person was nothing but a shriveled, mummified, corpse. Confused, the wanderer stripped the dead man of his clothes and saw that the dead man's flesh clung directly to the bone.

Then, as calmly as if he were mailing a letter, the wanderer dragged the emaciated skeleton corpse to his cart where he tossed it atop all the other corpses. With that, the wanderer grasped the handles of his cart and once again the wheels began creaking under the weight of bodies. Clanging his bell and speaking to nobody he croaked "Bring out your dead. Bring out your dead!"

The man was a corpse collector.

Strange, you hadn't seen the likes of him since the days of the Black Plague. Yet there he was collecting his prizes and what horrid prizes they were. On the death cart were more people that were nothing but emaciated skeletons; others corpses were so hideously bloated that they had burst apart revealing a feast of entrails and all the squirming maggots therein. Some people had been crushed to death and were little more than bloody smears scooped into the cart. With some of the dead, their skin was falling off in pieces, as if they died in one day from leprosy while others were bleeding from every pore, as if ebola were the culprit.

As he continued his trek, he was approaching a large pit in a part that he himself had dug, a burning pit. Who was this man? He did not know. His mind was so muddled, so ravaged, so empty, that he could not say. All he knew was that he was the only living man among the dead. He no longer remembered who he was or where he came from. He certainly didn't remember what had happened to the town, that it had been a fine little town until the Monster Wars came to America, before the food shortages, before martial law. Its being a fine little town was also before King Ghidorah claimed the Swarm and used it to kill all that lived, to spread plague and pestilence, before the famine and the mass starvation.

Something that UNGCC and the rest of the UN had quickly learned from the records and documents that Salno gave them was that King Ghidorah had the power to bestow power on those he so chose. In this case it was the flies of the Swarm. (Not unlike how another multi-headed dragon of Apocalypse would bestow power on The Beast.) At first, it didn't seem like much but the power this Lord of the Flies bestowed upon his new minions made it especially terrible. The power that the Prince of Skyllans bestowed was the Taint, the power to corrupt life energy thus making any living thing unfortunate enough to suffer its effects to shrivel up and die. For thousands of years, flies had been despised as bearers of disease and it was never truer than it was now.

Everywhere, the flies had flown, and flew still, going hither and yon spreading the Taint that they carried to all that lived. As such, any town or city they so much as flew over was as good as dead because the poor lost souls therein would sicken and perish as if they'd been simultaneously infected with malaria, small pox, cholera, and rabies. Soon a plague of Biblical proportions spread across the North American continent and no amount of Red Water, psychic music or even experimental Regenerator G-1 was enough to ward it off. Although any place that King Ghidorah chanced to visit suffered the effects of the Taint, the people in the United States were especially cursed because of it.

The corpse collector that wandered through the town was in such a poor mental state that he remembered none of this nor of the famine for that matter. If he could have, then he would have remembered the mass looting and mass rioting and mass suicides that had plagued the town for weeks after (and before because of the Taint Plague, but especially after) word came out of the Kansas Incident. King Ghidorah had destroyed President Devlin Emmerich's P3—Plasma Power Plant—which resulted in meltdown the likes of which made Chernobyl look like a mere Three Mile Island. It was an explosion far greater than that of any nuclear or even thermonuclear bomb and it had happened in the worst possible place it could have: Kansas.

It perhaps doesn't sound important but in fact it was of terrible importance. Just the initial effects of the explosion were enough to warrant it as being one of the darkest days of the republic. The only thing that could compare in terms in shock and disbelief was if terrorists were to hijack airliners and deliberately crash them into New York skyscrapers in broad daylight. Even as empty of people as the Plains now were, early reports indicated immediate casualties due to the explosion as near a million. (However, many more would die slow torturous deaths due to cancer, leukemia, and radiation poisoning in the years to come; not to mention the countless children that would go on to be born with horrible deformities.)

In addition to that, the plasmatic energies swept across hundreds of kilometers rendering the entire state of Kansas—as well as parts of Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri—an irradiated wasteland. True, mass use of radiation devouring, Anti-Nuclear Bacteria prevented further spread of the nuclear blight. But the total loss of America's breadbasket, a place that produced more than half the nation's wheat and sixty percent of its cattle, threw world economy—already in shambles as a result of the Monster Wars—into virtual collapse in the face of global famine. No longer would buffalo migrate in herds whose thunder shook the land, no longer would cattlemen and Native Americans wander these vast and endless plains, for the land was forever destroyed.

It was ironic. America, once called the land of plenty, was suffering a famine the likes of which were thought relegated to third world countries. (This was in no way helped by how King Ghidorah's very presence caused Earth's mana, and with it, the weather itself to go mad. This wasn't to mention how the dust cloud of the Egypt explosion still kept temperatures as low as they were and how the current fallout from P3 made for a second dust bowl.) Ankle deep dust rained down from coast to coast and the sun was blotted out for a week; the two combined to make the America a sad and wretched place. With that, riots and looting in the now, literally, darkened United States, which had before been isolated incidents, were now bordering on a civil war. With the Prince of Skyllans on the rampage from West Coast to East, that was the very last thing that the US needed.

Sadly however, such anarchy could easily happen as it was becoming increasingly clear that Washington DC was King Ghidorah's final goal. He had already destroyed the cities of Annapolis, Fredricksburg, Bethseda, and Alexandria and who knows how many towns in between. He was now circling around the capital like a vulture over the corpse of dying man; that that was his target was clear in how he had already sent the insects of the Swarm to test the waters. The demon had been created with knowledge enough to know the symbols of power and the power of symbols and what a capital city looked like.

America was on the brink of destruction as King Ghidorah wrought atrocities untold on the land. It was in fact so terrible, that the destruction that Godzilla had made the world of men suffer in times past was as nothing compared to it. Even so, the King of the Monster's blood red rage grew in its fury everyday and so did the horror he brought on the world. He sought to kill King Ghidorah and was ready to destroy absolutely everything that was in his way. Day by day, it seemed increasingly certain that the fears spoken of at the dawn of the Monster Wars would come true, that the King of the Monsters and the King of Terror would destroy each other after destroying the world first. They said that life would end in their final battle, a battle of the gods, as if it were some cataclysmic Ragnarok.

There seemed no hope, no chance, at winning and some only prayed that the world be ended quickly. All over the world the living truly envied the dead because it was as if the forces of evil had won and that now the only sin was to wish that you were ever born. However, the forces of good could prove a surprisingly tenacious and stubborn lot because they refused to surrender, no matter what. Even at that moment, even there with the world seemingly teetering on the brink of oblivion, the people of Earth were still fighting for their survival, refusing to give up and refusing to say die.

The UN was having the Red Cross and other multinational relief agencies working around the clock. The UN made sure that it's FAO—Food and Agriculture Organization—was doing all in its power and beyond to make sure that what food that did remain went to where it was needed most. Most importantly, it made sure that all forces under the aegis of the Security Council—the Defense Force of Earth, the Aerial Defense Force of Earth, the Maritime Defense Force of Earth, the Land Defense Force of Earth, and especially G-Force—did everything they could to save the world. Why, even at that very moment, G-Force was planning the final defeat of King Ghidorah in a battle to be waged on the western shores of Chesapeake Bay.

Of course, the corpse collector didn't know any of this; all he knew was that he finally reached his destination. The destination was the large pit that he had seen and had been approaching for some time now. As he had seen, it was a corpse-burning pit that he himself had dug. Illuminating the darkened night sky as if it were a portal to the Inferno, the vile infernal pit reeked and burned with the bodies that had been dumped there… And still more were dumped.

The corpse collector moved his cart to the edge of the pit and tipped it over with all his strength. After a round of huffing and panting, it flipped over and the corpses spilled out. The bloated or shriveled bodies fell and tumbled down the sides of the pit, illuminated by the hellish red light that shone in the pit. On hitting bottom, the bodies caused the fire to temporarily flare up, but it was only for a moment. Soon enough the flare went down and the fire resumed its normal wicked burn.

With that, the corpse collector that neither knew his name was Dean nor that the last corpse he found that day, the one with a mask of fright, had once been called Roland turned around and shuffled away, pulling his cart behind him with one hand. With the other, he rang his bell once again and yelled out "Bring out your dead. Bring out your dead!"


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Nineteen

It was, at that moment, endgame. As the corpse collector didn't know, the men and women of Commander Aso's G-Force—which by know incorporated the entire DFE and most of the world's armed forces—were engaged in battle with their most dreaded foe. With this army flying ten flags; America, Britain, Russia, China, France, Germany, Japan, Canada, South Korea, and Spain; it was as if General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Allied Expeditionary Force had been reborn. (For Ike it was Hitler and the Nazis on Normandy; for Aso it was Ghidorah and the Swarm at Chesapeake Bay.) This fight was being fought on the Atlantic Coastal Plains of Maryland and with seemingly every last man in the America's First, Second and Fourth Armies taking point it was meant to be victory or death, all or nothing. That was because the demon was heading straight towards the capital of the United States and clearly sought nothing but its destruction.

The humans and their monster allies—Mothra & Battra and Tuol & Quetzalcaotl—were ready to fight with everything they had and had a secret weapon that they hoped might win the war. At the moment those select humans were on a boat in Washington DC's Tidal Basin, the body of water surrounded by Japanese cherry trees, next to the Potomac and bordering the National Mall. There, Kyle Martin, Miki Seguesa, and Dr. Hayashida were feverishly working on Project Telepathy. On seeing that King Ghidorah was already heading towards the capital, the plan had been to make the final touches as the boat was sped on the Potomac towards the Bay. However, the demon had proven faster than they had expected and the sheer savagery of the battle made a trip there impossible. The only way now was to wait for a helicopter to pick up the team working on Project T and take them to the battlefield or, God forbid, wait for King Ghidorah to make his way to the city.

In the research vessel Calico, these three and several others were working amidst the cold. The Tidal Basin and the Potomac were already freezing over and a few scattered flakes were falling from the sky, a reminder of how cold the world had become since the coming of King Ghidorah (both literally and metaphorically). Brushing aside snow as he did so, Hayashida was quickly installing the various components of Project T into their various places; it wasn't going to be as easy as before. Last time, they had years to make this device for Godzilla and weeks to deploy it; now they had months to adapt it and hours to fire.

"You there," said Hayashida, "give me that circuit board."

The man handed it to the scientist saying "Yes, sir."

The assistant was getting the desperately needed pieces to the assembly as the master commanded made his machine; in as high risk a gamble as this, Hayashida trusted nobody but himself. Kyle, meanwhile, was at the keyboard, programming the computer systems that would merge Miki's mind to King Ghidorah's. As for Miki herself, Belvera was with her, training her mind and giving her every last ounce of psychic strength that she could in preparation for the coming mental battle. As she rubbed her temples and ignored the cold that froze her breath, Miki knew that she would need all her power to complete this test. If successful, then the Monster Wars would be over in one fell swoop and the world would be saved. If it failed… considering what happened to Meru, Miki tried not to think of that.

However, it was rather hard not to think of that with how the din of battle was heard through the empty city from over thirty miles away. (God knew that their ears were beginning to ache from the monster crickets' sonic attacks; they could imagine what it would be like for those on the battlefield itself.) If our band of heroes were to have looked up, they would have seen it wasn't just the Washington Monument that dominated the skyline; instead, blast after blast shoot up into the sky as well as explosion after explosion. Yes, from that far away, the people could have heard the sounds of war from the not so far off war zone.

For those on the battlefield, however, such a bit of information would hardly have been surprising, considering the battle they were fighting at that moment. One Apache helicopter was rocked by an explosion as a bee-hornet it shot to bits splattered across the front of it. The pilot cursed as the gore was smeared across his machine's windshield and began to gum up the propeller blades. "Pilot to base, pilot to base! Helicopter compromised, requesting immediate permission to return to base!"

On receiving permission to do so, the pilot hastily steered his wobbling machine back to Andrews Air Force Base, the nearest friendly territory, all the while protected by friendly fire. At that moment, a monstrous firefly flew in a kamikaze flight against the fleeing helicopter but at that moment it exploded in a fireball that gave the monster insect its name. On closer inspection, the monster was seen to have been destroyed by a burst of maser fire from the ground. The saved pilot looked down and smiled as he saw the smoking turrets on Land MOGURA protruding from the soil and smiled. On the ground, Glen at the guns and Fuji at the pilot's control, looked at each other and gave each other a high five. However, they turned their attention back to the battle soon enough.

With that, Land MOGUERA tore itself from the ground where it had been fighting burrowing insects to join the battle topside. After Fuji checked the rearward camera to make sure that no monsters were coming from the tunnel behind them, he looked across the battlefield and gunned the engine. Racing forwards across the sand and reeds of the shore on its tank treads, Land MOGUERA—the transformed upper half of the true MOGUERA—now ran over insects by the hundreds and blasted to pieces many more with its maser fire. The super tank raged forwards, unstoppable, invincible, it seemed as if nothing could stop it.

On seeing the vehicle racing as it was, a giant beetle took a flying leap atop the super tank and tried to destroy it. On doing that, it landed on the nose cone of the vehicle and began slamming its pincers against the metal of the machine. Unfortunately for the giant beetle, the nose cone was actually a drill and it was thus torn to pieces when it was activated. With its drill activated, Land MOGUERA kept destroying bugs it speared by the hundreds but still the battle was far from won.

If a person were to have fallen back they would have seen that across the whole of the snowy plains, the shores and the waters, the battle was being waged left and right, everywhere at once. On the frosty waters, gunboats were blasting anything on the water and around it. In the air, AH-64 Apache helicopters were engaging in air-to-air combat with flying insects in an effort to gain air supremacy; at the same time maser jets were blasting their insectoid quarry on the ground. At the ground itself, Abrams tanks were blasting with depleted uranium shells while maser tanks were firing their energy beams.

It was a savage and hellish battle where the screams of dying men were mingled with monsters' cries of horror and sudden death. However, neither side was ready to yield; both were determined to see their enemy destroyed. Fighting through snow drifts and sand and mud, soldiers in vehicles and on foot, in tanks and commanding artillery, with M-60s machine guns and bazookas, were trading blow for blow with the Swarm's clashing fangs and poison stings. Though the nation and the world were both in ruins, though the brave men there were dying by the hundreds every moment, the ragged, cold, starving, and exhausted soldiers that fought that day ceded not an inch to their enemies. The battle was not Normandy; in its frozen savagery, it was Stalingrad.

Such was the case when the humans stood ready to destroy the Swarm's master.

Far from being a leader that commanded far away from the battlefield, King Ghidorah raged on the battlefield against the humans that stood against him. The sleek and powerful Gryphon flew against the monster, blasting away with its maser beams and dodging the return fire with Tsujimori's orders. The uglier, but far stronger, Star Falcon—transformed lower half of the MOGUERA—was attacking like a bat out of hell, wreaking the vengeance of its pilot, Lieutenant Santos. With Gravity Beams missing their targets, King Ghidorah arched back and spread his wings and released his Crimson Lightning in a scatter shot.

One streamer of energy struck the Gryphon; from inside, Tsujimori cursed and told her men to prepare for evasive action. Not so with the battle ready Santos; he banked his plane back and dodged the beams as he opened full fire. One concentrated burst struck the demon at the base of the neck and it hurt the beast. (At which point, Santos gave a quick prayer of gratitude; these modified energy beams worked like a charm.) With red eyes gleaming, a black hate burned inside the demon and he fired a combined Triple Beam at his foe; it was in vain however, because Star Falcon managed to dodge it by a mile.

Santos smiled and screamed "You think you're so tough? You ain't nothing!" At that Star Falcon turned around for another attack and opened fire in a chain gun like barrage, barrel rolling as it did so. Such evasive maneuvers were more than necessary with the onslaught the demon returned. Dodging and weaving, the Lieutenant frowned, "So, you want to fight to the death, eh? Bastard!"

With that Santos increased his ferocious assault and it was reinforced with Tsujimori's help. Such an effort was crucial; although King Ghidorah's attention was occupied with the battle he had to be kept distracted until reinforcements came. Until they arrived, the humans couldn't risk the demon using its Fear and destroying the armies sent against him with a thought. However, help was not long in coming.

It came in the form of Mothra & Battra and Tuol & Quetzalcoatl.

In red rage, the three-headed monster tried to crash his heads into the planes and use them as weapons but as he was about to do so, he felt all three jerk back and grow suffocated. As the demon tore and shook his heads back and forth, he saw that a sticky, burning, and seemingly indestructible silk covered them. He used his great strength to finally tear through the silk that bound him and when he did he howled his hatred. This was intolerable! Who was it that did this? Who dared defy the Prince of Skyllans?

A loud long chirp said that it was Mothra that dared. Due to King Ghidorah's very presence disrupting the life force of the Earth, Mothra had been unable to ascend to her adult form and therefore had no choice but fight on as a larva. Even so, the "tiny," brown, 120-meter long worm wiggled across the frozen shoreline towards her giant foe and from the glint in her tiny beady eyes, it was clear that she was determined to fight on. As for the foe, such an action on the maggot's part was so pathetic that it was to laugh.

King Ghidorah walked against the maggot worm, determined to crush it beneath his heel but as he did so, an excruciating bolt of energy lanced through his back. Infuriated, the demon whipped around yet even as he did so another blast of energy was fired straight at his eyes. With all three faces, the demon scowled because even before he saw his foes, he knew whom it was. The wavelength of energy indicated a Prism Beam (though adapted to override his energy absorption) and that meant Battra.

Not disappointing, the Black Mothra was there, hoisting the front half of his black, red and yellow body erect on his many back legs. (Like his sister, Battra was unable to assume adult form due to King Ghidorah having corrupted Earth's mana.) With red eyes glowing, black mandibles clacking, and yellow horn glowing, the hideous and savage brother of Mothra screamed for the demon's blood. The King of Terror threw his head back and hurled a volley of fireballs from his mouths; with that, the ground around the 90-meter long Battra fairly exploded yet the creature refused to back away from his foe. Why should he when more help was yet to arrive?

Even as King Ghidorah was shooting fireballs at his hated foe, a new enemy came. Two stone fists shot out from the sandy soils of the plain and they grabbed Ghidorah's legs, yanking him downwards. Howling as he fell, the three-headed monster fell on his backside and howled again as the stone fists smashed against him once more. Tearing himself from the soil, Tuol grabbed and was trying to break the grounded demon's legs. With that, the three-headed monster shot his two tails back and tried to right himself, but even as he did so, a mammoth boulder of a hand slammed him back on the ground.

King Ghidorah raised his necks to fire his devastating Gravity Beams but that proved to be impossible when something coiled around his chest and the base of his necks. The Prince of Skyllans gasped and was paralyzed as he felt a crushing, constricting, suffocating squeeze. With six eyes feeding him three images, he saw Quetzalcaotl, the son of Manda, choking him thrice over. With that, he then felt twin needles plunge into the base of his middle neck, delivering poison.

Enraged, King Ghidorah loosed a barrage of electricity through his skin that blasted off both the son of Manda and the stone giant. Even as that happened, the demon was webbed once more by Mothra and shot with Prism Beams by Battra. With the two other monsters already getting up for another assault, the battle was far from over.

With that, Tomas Santos looked out of the cockpit of the Star Falcon and gave thumbs up to Moll and Lora who were flying at his side atop Fairy. On seeing this, the two Elias sisters nodded as the Star Falcon, and the Gryphon, peeled away from the battle with King Ghidorah in order to help his fellow pilots in Land MOGUERA. They couldn't afford to get into the monsters way and they were needed elsewhere. This was evident as the two super planes went to destroy the demon's army as they fought the battle that raged all around them.

Back in Washington DC, Miki was in deep psychic meditation to ready her powers when her eyes flew open. She felt a chill run down her back and it wasn't from the snow. She gasped. "No, not him…"

Careful to speak quietly so as not to alarm the busy others on the deck of the Calico, Miki looked to Belvera and whispered. "It's not him, is it?"

Stroking the Shield of Elias for reassurance, Belevra grimly nodded from her saddle atop Garu-Garu. "We were worried about this; King Ghidorah killed his family and destroyed his entire world. How could he not want revenge?"

"But if Godzilla comes now, the entire battle might be ruined!" Miki frantically looked back and forth in worry before continuing. "Where is he?"

"He just came into the Bay from the Atlantic. He'll reach the fighting and King Ghidorah in a matter of minutes."

Miki sighed. "I'm not strong enough to reach him; my telepathic range just doesn't go that far. Can you do anything Belvera?"

The black clad fairy shook her head. "I could reach him, but you're the only one he listens to and YOU can't risk straining yourself with trying to go that far. You're going to need every bit of strength to be able beat King Ghidorah."

Miki asked, "Then what can we do?"

Belvera looked grim and resolute. "I'll telepathically contact Aso at Army Headquarters here at DC. He'll know what to do."

Her protégé sighed. "I hope."

In the Bay, one crew on a gunboat was engaged in a fierce battle with a giant water boatman insect. It was as big as their boat and even as it fell dead into the water by a hail of withering canonfire, another took its place. As this happened, the pilot received orders for evasive maneuvers and he gladly complied. But it was as this happened that he heard orders coming in from the radio.

He cocked his head around and shouted, "Sir, we're being hailed by HQ. Aso himself says that we have to fall back and get out of the Bay."

From the deck of this ship where he was firing his revolver for that little bit that helps, the captain said, "Yeah, well tell him were a little busy right now!"

"Sir, I think you're going to want to listen to the Commander."

"Why?"

"Because Godzilla's coming this way!"

Right on cue, there was huge swell of water in the Bay; it began rising up like an enormous bubble until it seemed like it could rise no more. When that happened, the bubble fairly exploded in a tower of water and frost and ice and a very familiar roar sounded through out the land. As that happened, everyone there on the battlefield turned around and froze; all went silent. It was Godzilla and he was ready to rage.

At that humans and monsters of both sides cursed their luck because they knew that Godzilla wanted King Ghidorah dead and they also knew that he would destroy however many of either side to do it. Seeing this in Star Falcon, Santos took the initiative and spoke into his comm-link. "Tsujimori, we have to stop King Ghidorah and we can't let Godzilla get in our way. Keep him busy while Glen, Fuji and I make the MOGUERA."

"But sir—"

"Just do it!"

With that, Gryphon immediately opened fire on the target and began evasive maneuvers in order to get Godzilla's attention. In the other super-plane, Santos gave the order to Glen and Fuji in Land MOGUERA but in hearing it, they gasped. Never taking his eyes from the screen as he piloted the vehicle, Fuji said "Boss, we can't do that! That combining thing hasn't been fixed yet."

From high in the sky, the Lieutenant frowned. "No choice. We have to let Mothra and the others beat King Ghidorah and we have to stop Godzilla anyways. We've fought him before, we know what to expect so c'mon and do it!" With that, Glen and Fuji reluctantly nodded to each other and programmed their half to the machine to engage in docking sequence even as the Lieutenant programmed his half as well. With that, as it was some Power Ranger Zord combination, the machines came together.

Santos seemingly plunged Star Falcon to the ground in a death dive, but at the last moment it pulled it backwards. Now in a vertical position, the plane pulled its wings inside even as the nose cone folding against the body. The back half of the plane then split in two to form the legs of a humanoid was machine. Landing and skidding to a stop from the momentum of its movement, Star Falcon turned itself from a plane to lower half of the robot.

As for Land MOGUERA, Fuji accelerated it to the maximum speed and, at the last moment, it shot itself into the air. As that happened, the super tank folded its treads into itself and withdrew its drill, replacing it with the head of the machine. At the last moment before connecting with Star Falcon, the tank repositioned its cannons into their place as arms. Using the machine's limited flight ability, Fuji made it land atop the transformed Star Falcon.

With that, the two operators moved to a mini elevator that took them from their sub-cockpit to the main one where Santos soon joined them. Taking their posts, the three looked out from the viewing port of their mighty robot, the MOGUERA even as their commander reported this to Aso.

Fuji looked to his lieutenant and said "Navigation systems are online, sir."

Glen nodded. "Weapons are reporting 100% sir. We are ready to commence operations."

In his command chair, Santos looked to his computer screen and frowned. "Yeah but they won't last long. Like you said, the docking sequence wasn't perfect and that means that we only have a short period of time. We're going to have to take out Godzilla now."

"Tsujimori MOGUERA is on line, break away and tell everyone to fall back." Santos knew it was going to be even more dangerous and difficult than last time but he wasn't afraid. Whether leading troops into battle or piloting a super plane or commanding a giant robot, Santos was ready for anything and that included the situation he was in now. He looked to his men and said "Attack!"

And so they did.

However, in another battle, the combatants needed no such encouragement. That was the battle waged between King Ghidorah and the four monsters sent against him—Mothra, Battra, Tuol, and Quetzalcoatl and it was a fearsome one. Shooting up from a jumping coil as if she were a fruit fly larva Mothra landed on King Ghidorah's back and clamped her tiny jaws on him. At that pain, King Ghidorah shook and threw his body around; he then leapt up, arching his back as he did so, and threw his body and his necks forward to cast the larva off. Screaming as she was shot forwards, Mothra landed with a bruising thud on the ground; she quickly wiggled away as the space demon tore open the ground with his Gravity Beams.

However, before the three-headed monster could press the attack, he felt a lancing pain through his wings from Quetzalcoatl's claws. Intolerable! Would he have to face Tiamat's entire brood? King Ghidorah tried to strike the son of Manda but the serpent was as fluid as water and dodged every strike. Instead, the serpent lord struck with poison fang and razor claw and body and tender wing aggravating the demon more and more. In retaliation, King Ghidorah let loose a charge of electricity through his skin to ravage his opponent but having been taught the enemy's style of battle, the son of Manda moved quickly enough away with a flap of his wings.

Quetzalcoatl may have been faster than the King of Terror but he wasn't faster than the speed of light as was shown when the evil one fired a barrage of Gravity Beams at his foe. The beams hit their mark and the serpent shrieked in agony. Feathers and scales were blasted off and the monster's skin was burned raw but as this was happening, Tuol smashed his stone fists into demon's side. Seeing what he was up against, King Ghidorah shot a volley of fireballs but the shots did little more than anger the rock man. Then before, the demon had a chance to dodge, Tuol smashed his fist into the three-headed monster with such force that gasping thing was lifted off the ground.

The ugly stone idol then reversed his rocky arms and began crushing King Ghidorah in a vise like bear hug. Though the space demon felt organs being crushed and bones being snapped, he also felt a sadistic glee; any who touched him would perish from his Taint. For the idol to hold him like this, it was only making his own suicide! That was when he felt Tuol, with strength undimmed, tighten its hold and crush him.

Inside heads that threw themselves this way and that far above the stone giant's short, squat body, King Ghidorah thought, if his thoughts could be made words, what was happening? Why wasn't the Taint working! As if he knew what the foe thought, the idol's hideous face grinned, malformed stone teeth clacking against stone lips. Corruption of the flesh has no effect against one who is made of stone!

Taking advantage of this, Battra opened fire with Prism Beams from eyes and horn with all his might against the demon. Bit by bit, King Ghidorah was being worn down, but those arrayed against him left the foe not a single chance. At this the savage one's sister shot her webs to trap and ensnare the demon and to injure him as well for the web was a burning web. From his position, Tuol clamped down on King Ghidorah's right neck with his massive stone teeth and with all his strength.

Refusing to go down so easily, the Prince of Skyllans shot himself several thousand feet into the air with Tuol clinging to him and then let himself fall to the ground in an effort to send the stone giant off. With a crash that made the whole battlefield shake, the three-headed monster and the idol crashed but only King Ghidorah walked out from the sandy crater. Though Tuol's stone body was strong as rock, it was also as brittle; he was broken into various pieces and with nothing but sand to absorb, it would be awhile before they managed to rejoin. With that, the demon then launched a three pronged attack even as his wounds closed themselves. With his middle head he blasted and burned Quetzalcoatl with a hellish fireball; his right head sent Battra flying off in pain with his Gravity Beams; and he levitated Mothra to send her crashing down with a reversed Beam.

He was going to follow up with Crimson Lightning but before he could do so the Gryphon and a squadron of F-14s let loose their missiles and masers. Angered at the insolence of the maggots, he sent the Crimson Lightning at them; Tsujimori's plane was able to evade the action but the others were not. With that, Quetzalcaotl plunged his fangs straight to the gums on the foe's thigh leaving King Ghidorah to howl. With that, the Prince of Skyllans clamped his venomous needle teeth against his foes back and the son of Manda wailed as he was torn off and cast aside like a rag doll. The serpent did not move

The four had suffered their first casualty but it would certainly not be the last. Seeing his friend cast aside, Tuol pulled himself from the ground where he had fallen, having taken stone and sand he had absorbed to return. But however weak the sand was, so would Tuol be; indeed, even as he struck the foe, sand was dusted from his fist.

Yet even as King Ghidorah fought these enemies, his greatest enemy fought his own battle. With blazing speed, Godzilla clawed with a right hand and then a left before delivering a lunging bite. With armor already compromised, the MOGUERA was damaged even more cruelly and in its cockpit, the crew was showered in sparks. Santos barked, "Fuji, pull us back! Glen put out the fire!" Doing as they were told, yet coughing from the smoke that was beginning to full the cockpit, the men frantically went to their duties.

However, Fuji didn't move the robot a moment too soon because Godzilla resumed his attack. At that, the King of the Monsters fired his Atomic Ray at the robot and the robot shielded itself with its arms; it wasn't enough, however, as the robot's outer skin began to peel off. Godzilla then raised up his hands in a double hammer fist but as the twin fists came down MOGUERA smashed its weapons pod against the Supersaur's throat. Clutching at his neck, the monster raised his leg and kicked at the machine's hip in a ferocious countermove, thus sending it off balance. At that, even as he dodged the robots blows, the King of the Monsters looked to the Prince of Skyllans and roared; later, the Elias said that Godzilla's communication came to the effect of "Don't think it's over between us Ghidorah. These dolts are but a prelude to our final battle!"

Fighting the remaining three that still fought him, King Ghidorah shrieked his evil shriek. (The Elias said that his words would be "You fool, it's never over between us!")

His face a grimace of rage, the King of the Monsters was caught off guard when the metallic monstrosity shot him point blank in the face with its Plasma Laser Guns. His face burnt and bleeding, Godzilla was nevertheless able to do a roundhouse tail whip against the robot. However the MOGUERA caught the tail with its arms (though it still sent a helluva jolt through it) and smashed it's drill nose into the tail. The King of the Monsters screamed and tore his tail away with blood and gore spurting. Enraged, the saurian lowered his head and crashed the machine in a mighty head but that damaged the chest's Plasma Laser Cannon.

In the damaged command center, Santos growled, "Clavos de Cristo, we're at Damage Level Nine! How much longer before we're scrap?"

"Not much longer sir," said Glen. "At this rate, we'll be down and out in a matter of minutes. That, or the systems will fry from the inside from improperly docking."

"Damn… Alright, Glen I want you to fire PLG and SGMs then for you and Fuji to get to Land MOGUERA while I begin separation sequence."

As per its operators' commands the mighty machine fired a barrage of Laser fire from its eyes even as Spiral Grenade Missiles shot out from the weapon pods and began to drill underneath the monster's skin where they exploded. Godzilla was further aggravated when an entire tank corps opened fire at the beast from three directions. This gave the MOGUERA enough time to separate into tank & plane and get to relative safety. Thinking to repay their comrades, the men inside Star Falcon and Land MOGUERA opened fire against the King of the Monsters to give the tank corps the time to escape. As for Glen, Fuji and Santos, the super plane was already streaking away and the tank was already underground when Godzilla turned his attention to them.

So they were gone? So much the better for what the last of the Supersaurs had in mind; and that was to destroy his enemy. He'd deal with the wretched mammals later; right now he had something more important to do.

He wasn't the only one. As for King Ghidorah, he levitated Tuol off the ground with reversed Gravity Beams making him helpless; with that, he sent the idol crashing atop the helpless Mothra as she tried to wiggle away. The poor creature was nearly crushed to death by the falling stone and, as for Tuol, the fall left him to crumble to rubble from which sand ran.

Infuriated at what had happened to his sister, Battra launched himself to attack. He plunged into the ground and fairly flew through the soil towards King Ghidorah. Logically speaking, the three-headed monster should have flown into the air but he stayed on the ground to wait for the Black Mothra. With that, Battra shot out from the ground and stabbed King Ghidorah's foot from below with his horn. The Prince of Skyllans roared at this and stepped back but he did not move his eyes from his enemy at this. Battra then threw himself at the foe as hard as he could to impale his horn into the demon's black and frozen heart.

He made it.

King Ghidorah howled and vomited black bile at this and the mighty horn caused him great pain. Even so, the three-headed monster, mad with delicious agony, grabbed Battra with his three heads and tore him from his body. With that, the Black Mothra's horn was snapped off, much to his pain, and he was killed by a most horrific blast of point blank Triple Gravity Beams straight to the head. To make sure that his foe was dead, the demon combined all his power into an even stronger Triple Beam that fairly blasted the Black Mothra into bloody chunks. King Ghidorah then pulled out the horn from his body with his right head and he looked towards his most hated foe with the other two.

As for one's enemies, Tuol was destroyed, Battra was dead, and Mothra & Quetzalcoatl were terribly injured. As for the other's foes, the human soldiers were routed and the robot giant had withdrawn lest it be destroyed. King Ghidorah shrieked his hate. Godzilla roared his rage. Defiance had been declared between them even as war raged around them and with that, they fought, ready to fight, fight until death.

From high up, far above the battlefield, Moll and Lora watched this take place. They saw this from atop Fairy's back and wept. They saw and heard the din of battle, even as they saw men and monsters spill the same blood on the same mud. How could the humans be so blind, thought Moll? Why had they fought Godzilla when he could be their only hope of survival?

From a love filled heart that was about to break, Lora saw all this from over the fairy moth's head; she spoke the words that her elder sister thought. "Oh Mothra! This… this is madness. Moll, we were there the first time that King Ghidorah came, the humans didn't fight like this back then. This isn't battle, its butchery! Battra is dead and Mothra's going to die! The fight is lost and we've got to get them out. What can we do to save them?"

Impassive as she watched the battlefield roiled like a cauldron far beneath her, Moll searched her mind for wisdom. She then looked away and ignored the hand that grasped her arm. "There isn't anything we can do. The battle is too fierce and the combatants too savage. Battra will live again as long as Mothra does and she isn't dead yet. For now, all we can do is hope that their sacrifices won't have been in vain and that Godzilla will be able to finish what they began."

Wiping away her tears as she heard that, Lora nodded and said, "I hope you're right."

King Ghidorah and Godzilla looked at each other ready to fight yet again; neither made a move and neither turned away from the other. Each knew that they were eternal enemies and that their fates would be forever intertwined until the other was destroyed. For those that were there that day and lived to tell the tale, they would tell their children and grandchildren of how it seemed that the whole world grew silent at that moment before the two eternal foes finally struck.

King Ghidorah lunged with his right head and then his left before throwing his body forwards to smash his three heads against the enemy's body. Godzilla was stunned at this but he returned blow for blow when he delivered a hooking claw strike that tore open the demon's chest and sent a downward double hammer fist that broke the demon's wings. The three-headed monster wailed at that even as he spun around to deliver a strike with his poisoned club tails. They struck home and the King of the Monsters held back his scream even as tore it out of his bloody flesh to fire the full force of his Atomic Ray.

With that, Ghidorah returned fire with the full force of three fireballs and executed a flying kick yet before the beast even landed, Godzilla followed him into the air and struck him hard with a leaping roundhouse tailwhip. The Prince of Skyllans was sent wheeling towards the ground and he made the whole battlefield shake when he hit it. But he wasn't beat yet because even as Godzilla ran towards him, the demon spun like a top on his toes and managed to trip the King of the Monsters with his twin tails.

Godzilla was down on the frozen ground but before he could react, the three-headed monster slammed his tails again and again into the foe's chest, determined to drive the spines straight through the heart. Easier thought than done with how the Supersaur, though bloody and injured, grabbed one tail with his teeth and the other with his hands to pull the demon to the ground. With that, Godzilla clamped teeth inherited from the tyrannosaur on the enemy's chest to tear off a cold chunk of pseudo flesh, burning acid blood spraying all the while. The venom burned Godzilla's skin and left it smoking; in his smoking, deformed face his eyes were left blind. It was something that had been suspected but seen for the first time that day; though whatever injury managed to pierce the monster's nigh impenetrable hide was healed in moments, this power to heal was neutralized by King Ghidorah's Taint. As such, it was a battle of attrition and only God knew who would win.

So now, having escaped his enemy's clutches, the Prince of Skyllans charged his power to open fire with a combined Triple Beam. But on land as in water Godzilla could see with sight beyond sight and was prepared for this. He blocked his face with his arms and though he was pain unimagined, he stood his ground and, listening to the sound of his enemy's movements, opened fire with a Red Spiral Ray. It struck home and left King Ghidorah with a bloody, gore-dripping hole in his wing. As for the monster himself, he smirked because he was startled though not surprised. He knew he could expect Godzilla to be blind, yes, but helpless, never!

Not letting up for a second, the evil one beat his wings to generate hurricane winds even that sent soil and stone flying towards the enemy, indeed not only that, but men and monsters were blown away like leaves. As for Godzilla, he stood his ground, his time away from the King of Terror's touch allowing his eyes to see blurs and shapes. Yet he would not wait for this to be completed and charged forwards needing only Ghidorah's stench to guide him. Godzilla struck home in a ramming head but that sent King Ghidorah sprawling but he just as quickly got back up, his three heads crashing against the enemy's body. Braced by his own tail, Godzilla had not fallen down but was now ready to strike back.

He charged forwards and delivered claw strike after claw strike before slamming his shoulder into the three-headed monster. King Ghidorah was taken aback by this and lashed back and forth, swinging his long necks like a cat-o-nine-tails before trying to clamp his outer heads onto his enemy's eyes. Enraged at such an underhanded attack, Godzilla ducked his head and clamped his own jaws onto King Ghidorah's right head in an effort to crush it like an egg. Remembering what happened last time, the three-headed monster slammed his clubbed tails into Godzilla's side in an effort to tear it open. When that didn't work, he ran a current of billion volts through his skin; at that Godzilla wrapped his arms around him to crush him in a bear hug, further aggravating the injuries wrought by Tuol and the others.

With that, King Ghidorah deployed his secret weapon, the one tool that would guarantee him victory in this battle: the Swarm.

Godzilla was beating his hated enemy to death with such ferocity that he heard neither heard nor cared for anything else; that would prove a mistake. As this happened, a horrific buzz filled the air and all others on the battlefield saw it come as a black wave that lifted from the ground to blot out the sun. With that a column of maggots, flies, mantises, roaches, beetles, dragonflies and more mobbed the King of the Monsters. Godzilla was stunned at this and desperately tore at the things that covered him but when he saw that King Ghidorah was trying to get away, he roared and used his Atomic Shockwave to blast the insects off. In his weakened state, this attack further exhausted him.

Even so he rose from the roasted corpses of his hated enemies to lunge against the enemy and to kill him. Yet even as he did so more and more of the Swarm rushed over him, biting, stinging, clawing, all in an effort to delay him. Once again, the King of the Monsters used his Atomic Shockwave but now it was noticeably weaker and left its user considerably more exhausted. Godzilla tried to get up he tried to fight and he tried to burn them away but for every one of the Swarm he crushed, a hundred took its place. There was just too many of them and even though he would certainly break the Swarm's power that day the real enemy was going to escape.

Such a thought burned inside Godzilla and he would not let it come to pass. He would not! The monster insects kept swarming about him, some the size of men and some the size of Mothra, and they would not yield. As they covered him and attacked with their stingers and pincers, they seemed certain to win by sheer weight of numbers. But his power connected to his rage, Godzilla roared so loud as to be heard in Japan and let loose a Shockwave the likes of which burned everything in a radius of over a thousand feet. Brought to his knees by this, he was left in a crater filled that stank of decay; his body was smoking and twitching ash-covered corpses surrounded him. Not only that, but past him humans began to suffer from the beginnings of radiation sickness and all electronics were shorted out through much of the Chesapeake Bay battlefield.

Yet it was when Godzilla looked up from the sandy coast that was the battlefield, he saw that all he had done had been all in vain because that was when he saw King Ghidorah fly up and away through the gray windblown sky towards his final target. Godzilla rushed to his feet and took aim with Atomic Ray but it was no use; King Ghidorah was already too far away to strike, instead easily dodging the blue nuclear fire sent against him, despite the broken wing. The Prince of Skyllans had flown away and escaped his vengeance and was now just a speck in the sky.

By this time, the Swarm was routed. It had been ground away all through the battle and its remaining power had been broken in the fight against Godzilla. It was with that that the King of the Monsters turned to the humans that had fought there that day and he looked at them. He looked this was and that, seemingly scrutinizing the mammals that had shared the battlefield. At that, the whole area grew silent and nobody breathed; from atop Fairy where the Elias looked to the battle below to HQ where Commander Aso saw this on the monitors, everyone was frozen. Everyone asked… what would Godzilla do next?

He would destroy them! In mad raging anger, he let loose a fully powered Red Spiral Ray against every single thing that moved. The last ragged remains of the attack force there were caught off guard by this and were quickly torn to shreds. True, G-Force had been created to fight Godzilla and had done so for well over ten years but through most of the of the Monster Wars it had not had to fight Godzilla as it had before this all began. Now they were sending troops, aircraft, artillery, armored vehicles, and everything else to fight the beast.

According to the Elias when they were asked after the battle, Godzilla was driven to destroy by sheer hatred. King Ghidorah had been his enemy and his alone to kill; the humans had delayed him and had thus robbed him of his vengeance. In his hatred at seeing the foe escape, the rage went beyond all reason and drove him only to destroy. Very soon the G-Force soldiers were on the ropes and had too flee for their lives; that they had no choice in doing so was made clear when Commander Aso gave the order to retreat. They had to withdraw and regroup in Washington DC which was now under attack by King Ghidorah. But because of how Godzilla raged against them, that would never happen.

In Washington DC where the Calico was moored in the Tidal Basin, sat our band of heroes. With the ESP helmet that she used to enter Godzilla's mind at her side, Miki was deep in concentration and set in the traditional lotus position, preparing for when she would have to face the evil one in his own domain. Miki did this alone with Belvera having gone into a seizure at Battra's death. It was with that moment that her eyes flew open and they shone gold; with Godzilla's strength her face was carved as stone and she said "King Ghidorah has come."

A t that, Hayashida and Kyle Martin whipped around to see her with frightened eyes. Kyle found himself short of breath but kept his head. "He's coming… how much time do we have?"

Miki shook her head. "None. Look there and know that the time is now."

At that moment, a bloodcurdling shriek cut through the entire city, a scream that shattered the windows of a hundred buildings and the hopes of a thousand hearts. That was because this was the day that a city of treasures was to die. It was with then that the shadow of the dragon and of the apocalypse itself spread itself and darkened the sky as if it was Satan himself blotting out the sun with iron wings. But it was not the devil, though it surely seemed to some as if it was; instead, it was the devil's hammer.

All of a sudden, a golden blur fell from the sky faster than the proverbial speeding bullet with such force that the World War II Memorial was pulverized by the sheer force of the sonic boom; however, instead of breaking off the movement, the blur rocketed forwards. In less than a breath, the blur, strafing the ground at less than two hundred fifty feet, sliced the Washington Monument in half with its wings. It than shot past it over the National Mall and exploded the magnificent Capital Building (and the twenty foot tall bronze Statue of Freedom at the top with it) with the power of gravity gone wild. With that done, it rocketed upwards and let it all sink in before continuing on his rampage.

Having danced to the sky as if part of some perverse aerial ballet, King Ghidorah began an aimless, chaotic attack, destroying anything unfortunate enough to be caught in his sight. Gravity Beams, Crimson Lightning, random fireballs, the Taint, the Fear, they were all used to the maximum and past it. Very soon, block after block was vaporized and countless structures were reduced to dust; worst of all, the death toll would prove to be astronomical.

However, that was not only because of the attack itself, not only because of how Taint was making people drop dead in the street, not only because Fear was creating a mad panic and making people commit suicide at the drop of a hat. It was because the President had refused to let the city be evacuated until it was far too late. He had been able to do it not only because he was Chief Executive and such but also since he was Commander-in-Chief and was it wartime and martial law had been declared he could basically do whatever he wanted. As to why, well if he were to have called for an evacuation then that would have meant that he was faced with somebody stronger than he was, no? He couldn't admit to that now, could he?

As for where the man himself was, he had, as of yet, refused to evacuate and was at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Ensconced as he was in the White House, the Oval Office to be precise, he had a surprisingly good view of the destruction being wrought on the capital and, chillingly enough, seemed utterly blasé about it. He just stood there in front of the Oval Office's main window with his hands behind his back, watching indifferently as the carnage came, not caring about it one bit. Instead he broke his silent revelry only to murmur "So that's King Ghidorah…"

It was at that moment that the Vice President rushed into the office with a panicked look on his face. "Sir, there you are! Sir, please, we've got to get you to a secure location right away."

At that, the startled Devlin Emmerich just turned about and asked, "What was that? What did you say?"

Franklin Smith couldn't believe it. "Sir, I said that we have to get you somewhere safe. We're already cut off from the outside but we can still get you to the White House's bomb shelter."

Emmerich shook his head. "I appreciate your concern Frank, but don't bother. He's not coming here; the fact that I haven't gone stark raving loony and drunk battery acid proves it. I have a feeling that this is the one place that he won't destroy. Something of an 'I could destroy you at any time but not today,' thing. Funny though, this is the first time that I've ever actually seen the damn monster with my own eyes."

The day would prove the President right; the three-headed monster would indeed spare the White House. Whether or not it was for the reason that President Emmerich said only God knew, but the man was left untouched to watch the carnage unfold before him. "Oh no, there goes the Smithsonian and three of its museums… and so does Arlington Cemetery. Wait a minute… is King Ghidorah levitating the corpses out of the graves? …That's the end of the Iwo Jima statue and the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Good. Serves them right for not putting my face on the one-dollar bill. Remember Frank, they're the ones that make America's money."

All of a sudden President Emmerich began chuckling as he turned his back to the window to look at his right hand man. "You know, I bet that after that crazy monster blasts the National Archives he's going to go to the Lincoln Memorial." At that Franklin Smith was shocked to see it all happen just as his boss said and that included the next words. "And right now I bet that King Ghidorah is actually at the Lincoln Memorial, demolishing it."

The President turned to see that it was exactly as he had predicted. Now the Prince of Skyllans was beating with his wings to clear away the rubble from that holy temple even as tore the head off of the Lincoln statue and crushed it between the jaws of his middle head. It was a final insult towards America's most noble and beloved leader. Emmerich sighed. "Emancipator meets Terminator. I wonder if those G-Force guys are capturing this on tape."

The Vice President gasped in horror at this American Nero, fiddling as Rome burned. "Sir, what are you doing! What's wrong with you! Do you have any idea what's going on? We've got to get away. It's our fault sir, we brought this monster here!"

At that remark President Emmerich whipped around, his distorted with rage and his body trembling with hate. "What did you say?"

At that moment Franklin Smith was beginning to feel more fear than he already did. "Mr. President, now just calm down please listen…"

"Don't you tell me what to do. You dare join those madmen that blame me for the things that Ghidorah causes? 'We brought this monster here.' That's ridiculous you fool!"

Emmerich then picked up a small chair and threw it at the window, breaking it into a thousand pieces. He then ran towards the window and leaned out, screaming and shaking his fist at the three-headed monster all the while. "GO ON GHIDORAH, DESTROY THE CITY! I'LL REBUILD IT AGAIN, YOU'LL SEE!"

Meanwhile, on the Tidal Basin, Miki and the others saw that the madness had gone on for long enough. They saw that the demon had gone north past the Memorial, leaving the Constitution Gardens in flames, and was now destroying the various government buildings along Virginia Avenue. Destroying as he was a city of treasures, three-headed monster was is a virtual orgasm over the surge of bloodlust and destruction and murder he wrought there. It was as if he were some virus, drawing strength from the pain and misery he wrought on others, drawing power from despair.

And it was during this mad surge of power that he finally noticed Miki and her motley crew watching him. To King Ghidorah, individual humans were less than insects, nothing but microbes with pretensions of significance, but he sensed that these humans were something more. He didn't know it, but up until that moment, Belvera had been using all her psychic power to shield them from his sight. A difficult thing with how she had almost suffered brain death with the murder of Battra, but she forced herself to do it, if only for Battra's sake.

However, it had been too much, far too much, and she had passed out from the unbearable stress and emotional agony. It was with that revelation of this the humans that King Ghidorah finally saw the only humans that stood against him. Fairly laughing (if such a term could be applied to a demon) at this last pathetic enemy, the Prince of Skyllans flew slowly towards them intending to savor the moment and their torment. When this happened, time itself seemed to slow to a crawl.

As such, every movement of Kyle Martin could be made out as he took aim from the Calico with a modified shoulder mounted tank killer Javelin missile launcher. The smoke of the shot could be made out, as could the movement as the EMP field protected shell that was fired raced towards its mark. Indeed, it seemed as if when the shot hit King Ghidorah, that it took ages for him to react and for lightning to shoot out from his body as a sign of pain. It took even longer for the computer on board ship to signal that the neural link up had been made between King Ghidorah and Miki Seheusa.

However, if time had slowed, it was immediately put back to its normal course when a deafening heart wrenching scream of agony came from out of Miki. Panicked by the sight, Kyle Martin immediately rushed to her side to take off the ESP helmet, but Hayashida stopped him, saying that it was the only way. As for the "person" on the other end of this, the King of Terror lost all control of himself as a consequence of his pain and sailed past the Tidal Basin that the humans' ship was on. (In the process, making the water blast this way and that and making the ship almost capsize.) He instead had landed on the other side, thrashing and foaming at the mouth as he did so. Then, at the same moment, both woman and monster screamed one final agonizing scream as the computers aboard the Calico fairly exploded in a shower of sparks, all this before the two went limp, leaving only smoke and silence.

At that Kyle could contain himself no longer and rushed towards the woman he loved. Frightened and panicked he shook her by the shoulders and said "Miki! Miki are you alright? Answer me please!"

It was then that Moll and Lora came riding in on Fairy. Though it pained her, Moll knew that she and her little sister had to leave Mothra and the others to take care of themselves. They were needed here because they knew that with Belvera down that Segeusa would need all the help she could get to make it through King Ghidorah's blackened soul—that is if he even had a soul. At that moment, they were just hovering above the ship, overlooking the charred husk of what had once been the very capital city of America itself. Moll and Lora knew what had had happened, but neither dared act for fear that they might destroy their pupil from the inside out. Instead, the twin faye knew that only one being had the slightest chance of saving her and he was already there.

Then with a suddenness to make a man jump, Miss Segeusa gasped for air and began ragged breath. Risking a look over at King Ghidorah, Kyle saw that the monster was limp on the ground, unmoving and seemingly comatose. Then ignoring that, he turned back to the woman. "Miki are you there?"

Those would prove to be the most ironic words he ever spoke.

On hearing Kyle, "Miki" laughed, but it was a harsh, pitiless laugh without joy or hope, a laugh from something beyond darkness, beyond sin. It was a laugh from someone in who there was no goodness, no love, and no mercy. It was a sadistic chuckle to be expected from Vlad Dracula as he saw men "twitching like frogs" as they died impaled on poles or from Adolf Hitler as he learned that so many members of an inferior race had been tortured to death at Auschwitz. It was with that the Miki Segeusa looked up at Kyle with a psychotic look on her face, one of hatred and malice and cruelty. Then, with red glowing eyes and a voice that was made of a thousand souls burning in Hell, "Miki" smirked and said, "Yes human, I'm here."

At that, Kyle motioned for Hayashida and the others on the boat to stand away and let him talk. "Miki, are you all right? Do you feel OK?"

Speaking in a low guttural, bestial growl, the person in question slowly shook her smiling head. "Now, now Mr. Martin, let's make something clear and that is while I do appreciate your concern, you aren't speaking to Miss. Segeusa. You're speaking to he whose mind she tried to enter."

"Miki, I know you must feel confused right now but—"

"SILENCE MAGGOT!" roared the Miki who was not Miki as she or he grabbed Kyle by the throat and hoisted him into the air. With glowing red eyes, he said, "I want you and everyone else here to know that I am NOT that scrawny little female! Do you hear me? Do you understand!" With that she/he threw the gasping man aside like a rag doll, leaving him to nurse the deep bruises that had appeared all over his throat.

On the ground and barely able to breathe, Kyle nonetheless forced himself to speak. "So you're not Miki, you're King Ghidorah."

At that, he made Segeusa's lips smirk. "Yes I am but you do not believe that. Instead, you believe that I am your precious Miki thinking that that I am King Ghidorah. Let me show you something. Do you see that building over there? That's the, the…" the demon searched the woman's mind until he found it. "…The Jefferson Memorial. See it? It's the one past the Basin we're in and past the Cherry Trees. Or at least it will have been."

On his feet, Kyle nodded.

With that, with her hair moving and lifting up as if the wind were blowing, with red eyes glowing bright, he arched her back and lunged forwards, firing a lightning like bolt of energy from her mouth at the Memorial, making it explode. Then, even as her mouth was still smoking, he waved her hand in front of a technician on the boat making him fall to the ground screaming as his skin began peeling off. By the time Hayashida had gotten to him and checked his pulse, the man was already dead. A demon spoke with a woman's mouth to say, "Now have I convinced you?"

In horror, Kyle stumbled backwards before forcing himself back up. "Oh my God! What the Hell's happening!"

On hearing that, Miki's head arched back and swiveled about but it was King Ghidorah who spoke through a mad grin. "Little man, haven't you been listening to anything I've said? Perhaps I should repeat what I've said and say it very slowly.

"I do have to admit, however, that you did have an interesting idea. You place a device on my back so that you might be able to claim my mind and make me do whatever you want. But what would that have been? For me to crawl back into that accursed meteor prison? For me to go away forever? For me to commit suicide by flying into the sun? I don't know what you were planning nor do I really care because what matters is what is happening know."

At that Miki/King Ghidorah began pacing, whilst her hands were placed behind her back. "You did indeed have an interesting idea though I must admit that it was a totally stupid one. Do you really think that your precious Miki Segeusa had any chance of defeating me with her pathetic strength? Do I not deserve a greater effort! No, your little mind reader never had a chance of winning against me and I'm surprised that she had the audacity to try. The Elias should have told her that I am as far beyond them as they are beyond you Kyle Martin." At that, the demon smirked with Miki's mouth. "But of course, if you humans WANT to prolong your agony I encourage you. It makes killing you all the sweeter."

At that nobody on the deck dared to move or dared to speak. Kyle was the only one and right now he was wishing that he had inherited more of his grandfather's communications skill. "…King Ghidorah…"

"Yes?" purred the demon. "No." At that moment, the evil one began trembling and losing the smug on Miki's face. "What… No I won't let you!"

"Get out of my head!" screamed Miki.

Then in his demonic growl, King Ghidorah bellowed "Shut up woman or I'll beat you down!"

All of a sudden, Moll and Lora swooped down on Fairy and zipped down in front of Miki's face. "Please you must fight it!" said Moll.

"I am!" she screamed as she clutched her head.

Frightened, Lora cried, "Please, you can't let him beat you!"

The duel between the two beings inside one body continued, vows and curses flying, until all of a sudden, the body fell to the ground. Then, curled into a ball on the ground and crying, Segeusa looked to Kyle and whimpered. "Kyle… help me. Give me your hand… please.

"Don't worry love, I'm coming…" Yet at the last second before he gave her his hand, he stopped dead in his tracks and his face became as stone. He took back his hand and scowled at Ghidorah. "You almost fooled me."

At that the demon got Miki's body back up and dusted himself off. "Oh well, it was worth a try now wasn't it and we've all got to try our best. That's just the way things are."

Kyle slowly took one step back and slightly trembled. "What are you?"

"I am despair. I am suffering. I am the cry of the wounded beast, the whimper of the forgotten child. I am your worst nightmare made flesh. I am wickedness. I am the devil's hammer. I am King Ghidorah."

"Why are you doing this? Why do you do these things?"

"I do this for the sake of chaos. I do it to destroy. I do the things I do to bring forth a world of darkness. I do it because all that lives disgusts me, because all that is good and clean I despise. I kill for the pleasure of killing, I kill to know that I have the power to do so, and I kill so that all shall see me for the cancer that I am."

At that Kyle frowned. "Then you admit it, you're evil."

King Ghidorah smiled with Miki's mouth and laughed with her voice. "Am I evil? Yes, yes I am. Let all that hear this know my words and know fear! I was spawned by a pact the Space Hunters struck with he who is the Prince of Darkness and the Father of Lies, he who is the King of Evil. I was made to be their sword but I turned out to be their Sword of Damocles when I killed them all, every last one of them. I am evil, pure evil for I follow in the footsteps of those that refused Leviathan's command to kneel before the mewling race of men, that renounced the light of God to ally with the seven headed great red dragon! I'm not some wrym that merged his soul with that of a demon to thus be absolved of some blame. The demon made me do it! HA! Nor am I some weakling necromancer who delights in killing but says that it's not for the sake of evil but to 'avenge' some poor lost souls. Wretched, the most pathetic thing I ever heard."

It was then that Belvera groggily woke from her slumber and gasped in fear at what she saw. After checking to see that the Shield was still on her arm, she looked to her sisters on their aerial steed and nodded; they would combine all their energies to save Miki the moment they had the chance.

Miki's body then began pacing. "However, I am not above making deals, we can talk. I've looked through Miss Segeusa's mind and it is an interesting one with its psychic powers but not something that I hadn't seen before in my travels. An interesting thing I found is how much she loves you… and how she also loves Godzilla as well. Amazing, couldn't tell which one of you two she loved the most."

At that, Kyle felt his heart drop and stomach turn.

"Godzilla…" continued King Ghidorah. "I remember the first time I ever saw him. The Space Hunters had sent me to do battle on this Earth some 65,000,000 years ago to see just how strong I was. It was there that I saw the Supersaurs and learned that Titania, the Elias' mother, had prayed to Leviathan the Great Dragon to give rise to them. After killing both Gigantis and Anguirus and learning that they were created to do battle against me, I thought that perhaps I would find a victory here, greater than any to be expected. I admit to some level of combat but not a one was capable of satisfying me… Except for Godzilla.

He had a far away look on Miki's face. He sighed and spoke in a dreamy voice. "He was the only one ever worthy of facing me for he was the one warrior that dealt me my only defeat. In doing battle against me, he fought tooth and nail, he fought a war of annihilation." At that, the demon giggled. "But then of course the King of the Monsters ought to do so, how could he not after I killed his precious little mate… and their unborn son and his parents and his best friend and his pack and I just lose count of them all. Ha ha!"

On hearing such words, Kyle actually felt a trace of pity for his old enemy. Though he had heard that story before, he had never actually believed it just as for so long he had refused to believe that the kaiju were anything more than mindless animals. Could it be true? Was Godzilla actually able to feel some measure of love? It was with such thoughts that the demon spoke.

"Yes Kyle, my old enemy is capable of love. As I inhabit Miki's body, I have access to her powers and that, of course, includes her telepathy. That also means that I can see into your mind as well and see that you also call the King of the Monsters enemy. Would you care to join forces? We could work together and see him destroyed. Think of it, your brother avenged, the world rid of Godzilla's threat forever. Isn't that what you always wanted?"

Kyle frowned as he heard this. "'All this will I give you if you but fall down and worship me.'"

On hearing that, the evil one smiled and wagged Miki's finger. "Very good! You know the deceit and treachery of he who made me in his own image. But what of another deal, I leave this piece of meat in exchange for your soul? A high price but with how I'm trapped here…"

Kyle folded his arms and said, "As powerful as you are, I've got the feeling that you could leave her body and return to your own at anytime. I've also got the feeling you could even remote control your body, not to mention how I bet that you would never keep your word. With both your power and Miki's knowledge and abilities, who knows what you might be able to do?"

A genuinely surprised look came across Miki's face even as King Ghidorah made her face turn to the three upraised heads of his own body. With that, the evil one made his own heads and Miki's nod at each other. "Clever boy! No wonder Miki likes you."

At this, Kyle found himself without words and without thought; he just stood with a dry mouth and looked for words to say. Thinking to buy some time, he at last he tried to speak. "King Ghidorah, I… I know there is much we can learn from each other if we can negotiate a truce. Can there be a peace between us?"

"Peace?" At that he crossed Miki's arms and spat. With a nauseated look on her face he said "No peace."

"What is it that you want us to do?"

With red eyes glowing, the demon smiled. "Die…" Then the evil one held out his hand and began to slowly close it into a fist. As this happened, Kyle clutched his chest and began gasping; he fell to the ground and began screaming. "DIE!"

On seeing this, Hayashida and everyone else on the boat piled on top of Miki, beating her senseless yet it was not enough with King Ghidorah amplifying her strength tenfold. On the ground, she/he was kicking and screaming and sending the people there flying right and left, off the boat

and into the water. With that, Moll, Lora, and Belvera rushed to their aid and focused all their psychic strength against the demon. At this, King Ghidorah screamed his fury as the fairies cast a spell of exorcism. The monster's scream grew louder and the boat quaked but still the three sisters did not move.  
Instead, they pulled out their swords in which their pendants of Courage, Wisdom, and Love were kept; Belvera was at the center pointing the enchanted blade at its target with her younger sisters placing their blades beside hers. All three chanted the holy incantation even as the eldest placed the Shield of their father atop the hilts of the blades. With that, a tremendous beam of energy shot out from their glowing blades and struck Miss Miki Segeusa.

When that happened, Miki began writhing madly as if she were having an epileptic seizure and electric bolts began shooting out from her body. The bolts left those they touched incapacitated and everyone withdrew. The three Elias pressed their attack and forced themselves to exert every ounce of their power until they began to sweat blood yet they would not yield. Then in one final surge of power they invoked the might of the Cross, the might of the Trinity, and poured into the tormented woman the power of Love, Wisdom, and Courage. With that, King Ghidorah gave one final cry before departing from them in an explosion of light and settling back on his body as a cloud of darkness.

At that King Ghidorah was once again what he was, the three-headed monster. Cockily, he got to his feet and, thinking that he taught the humans enough for one day, spread his wings and flew off into the sky.

Back on the Calico, every thing was in shambles. G-Force's last best hope was destroyed, even as it's best and brightest was at death's door. It had all been for nothing and it seemed that they were indeed helpless against King Ghidorah. As for Kyle himself, everyone on the boat surrounded him even as he cried, holding Miki's trembling form. She was barely conscious and was crying uncontrollably in Kyle's arms. Only God knew what she saw while in King Ghidorah's mind but what they did know was that her pale, bloodless skin was ice cold and that her lips were blue. (Kyle would later remind himself of how Dante's Inferno spoke of the last circle of Hell, where Lucifer holds court as he gnaws the skull of Judas, as being a place of ice.)

As he crouched down, cradling the woman he loved, Kyle whispered "Can you hear me Miki… We're going to make it. It's going to be all right."

At that Miki looked up at him as she sweat a cold sweat and she shook her head. "No Kyle. It's not going to be all right." She swallowed and said "I've seen his thoughts, I know what he's planning to do. He's a monster… He's raped whole solar systems to extinction, destroying everything and killing everyone. Every bit of suffering he causes just makes him stronger, every ounce of hatred gives him power. All the stories they've said about him being the killer of all that live are true… and we're next." 


	21. Chapter 21

Epilogue

It was with that black day, that King Ghidorah left America to its own devices and continued his rampage elsewhere. The US was sick, cold, and starving; it bordered on collapse and could easily go that way with how the Swarm still looted and killed even with the Prince of Skyllans having abdicated his role as Swarm Lord. As for President Emmerich, this American Caligula boasted of how he had refused to bow before the three-headed monster and had instead stayed in the capital to spit in his face. Nobody believed that it happened as he said it did and the little scheme did little to enhance his popularity.

As for the rest of the world, it didn't fare much better.

Now, more than ever, the promise of final victory that Secretary General Santos gave at the dawn of the Monster Wars seemed ever more distance. Everywhere, mass stampedes of refugees ran without order and without goal because everywhere, nation after nation was wiped from the face of the Earth. Looting, riots, kaiju attack, starvation, disease, all these compounded the misery King Ghidorah wrought upon the entire Earth. In Israel, a people that had fought a war of survival the day after their new Promised Land was born valiantly fought to the last man but to no avail as Masada fell again. In India, the few remaining government officials met in a railway station even as an exodus of people left for the imagined safety of the Himalayas. In Mongolia, the capital of Ulan Bator collapsed entirely, leaving the people to flee to the countryside and be ruled by warlords unseen since the days of Genghis Kahn.

Fear and misery and despair gripped the world and it seemed as if it really was the end. In darkened corners and back alleys, what little of them remained with world wide city destruction, rumors began circulating of nuclear weapons and of a top-secret Black Hole Gun along with rumors of nuclear winter and of Earth being sucked into galactic oblivion. With the natural disasters and famines and epidemics that accompanied the global destruction caused by King Ghidorah either scenario seemed preferable. In fact, human civilization seemed to border on collapse even as it seemed that the human race itself would go extinct in a single lifetime.

However, some people said that that wasn't going to happen because it already had. To be in a place of despair and of suffering, to be in place of torment and of torture, was this not proof that their worst nightmares were confirmed? Yes there were people who not only said that they were already dead, but that they were in Hell, that they'd all died and gone to Hell. However, the people that said that were wrong. That was because Hell can't get worse and with King Ghidorah on Earth, things were going to get much worse.


End file.
